There is Always a Choice
by Lumosity13
Summary: There is always a choice, that's what they say, right? It has never been truer and the world of Harry Potter (with a few twists) is about to discover this truth both the hard and the easy way.
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: There is Always a Choice

**Disclaimer**: J.K. Rowling, the lucky witch, owns Harry Potter and all its affiliates. If I owned it, I would have taken over the world by now.

**Rating**: I'm going to rate it M, just in case. Not sure how descriptive I'll get in this thing yet.

**Pairings**: That would spoil the story… but I'll throw ya'll a bone. Pairings are HP/DM, RW/HG, RL/SB, JP/LE, LM/NM, and BZ/LL.

**Warnings**: Mild violence (so far), foul language, AU plot, Angst, Romance, Tragedy, and anything else that will bring your 'feels' to bursting.

**Summary**: There is always a choice, that's what they say, right? It has never been truer and the world of Harry Potter (with a few twists) is about to discover this truth both the hard and the easy way.

**Author's Notes**: James' sister, Kiana Potter, had been watching Harry the dreaded night of October 31st, 1981. Sirius never chased Peter down due to being with Remus and Talianna (Their daughter from a surrogate with both of their genes and none of the baby mama's.) and because of this; Peter was found to be a traitor and locked away in Azkaban. Thus, no Dursleys (thank the gods!). This story really focuses on an OC, named Talianna Lupin, who plays an important role in this AU of the HP series.

This story jumps quickly through time the first few years. I wanted to lay out the background for the relationships and friendships and that just couldn't be done with a summary. I'll do my best to do it justice. Enjoy, my darlings!

_There is Always a Choice_

_Chapter I: The Beginning _

_"The beginning enables the ending." – Anonymous_.

The platform was large and invasive. Noise its main attraction and, goodness, did many pay to witness. Images flash across her eyes, brown like her father's, her smirk like her dad's as she spots the white-blonde hair of her best friend and his parents.

Her voice, so high and clear, cuts through the station's main ride and strikes her friend's ears, making him jerk around, a bright smile upon his small, pointy face.

"Draco!"

"Tallie!"

"And Harry, too!" A third child, this one shorter than the other two with coal-black hair and twinkling green eyes, intercepts their running hug, capturing them both in his arms. The three laugh with joy as the parents slowly approach, as if in a duel. Lucius keeps his mouth from slipping into a smile at the sight of his son so happy from the harshest of mental reprimands while Narcissa rolls her eyes gracefully at Lily Potter. Lily flashes an amused smile before greeting Sirius and Remus Lupin. Sirius looks disgruntled from his little girl so entangled with a Malfoy, but at a warning glare from both Remus and James, he huffs and smiles tightly at the little blonde boy before nodding coolly to his parents.

"HOGWARTS!" The three trill and grab hands as they dance in a circling jig, giggling and whooping with the excitement that what they've been anticipating for so long has finally come to be.

"Draco" Lucius rebukes at his son's exuberance. Draco stops and looks up with concerned grey eyes before smiling at his calming friends tightly.

"The train will be leaving soon. Are your trunks on, yet?" Draco asks with the height of politeness. Narcissa smothers a laugh in her gloved hand before holding the other out for the men to shake and a small hug for Lily.

"Yes! I'm so excited! I can't wait to see the Whomping Willow! It's my favorite!" Tallie shrieks, beginning to jump again. Sirius and Remus smile benevolently down at their little cub, their clasped hands still drawing both curious and disgusted glares after all these years.

"You haven't even been there! You don't know!" Harry protests, still smiling at his silver-haired friend. Draco beams and grabs Tallie's hand again, tugging her towards the train with Harry trailing behind.

"Let's go!"

"Hold on! No one's leaving until I get a goodbye!" Lily protests vehemently. Harry sighs and turns back, kissing his mum's cheek with over-exaggerated kisses. James laughs while Lily squeals and hefts his little Prongs into the air, tickling his sides so his rich laughter rings out over the platform. Whispers break out at the sight of Harry Potter in the air, laughing.

"The boy-who…"

"I can't believe…"

"Finally at Hogwa…"

"…Who-Lived here…"

"Great things are…"

"Why do they have to talk about Harry, daddy?" Tallie whispers to Sirius while hugging him tightly. Sirius tenses slightly but chuckles.

"He's such a happy kid. Those old people are jealous." Sirius responds. Tallie nods and skips over to Remus for her good bye hugs. James and Sirius exchange pained expressions over her head and Lily reaches out, gripping James' hand tightly in hers for comfort.

Draco finishes kissing his mother good bye and receives a tight hug from his father, the only sign that Lucius is nervous for his son. "Don't worry father, I'll make Slytherin." He assures him. Lucius smiles.

"This is important, Tallie. Gryffindor is the only true house for Lupins. Gryffindor. None of that snake nonsense and birds and badgers are stinky."

"_Sirius_!"

"Now off with you, little cub. Remember, Gryffindor Rules."

"_Sirius_!"

"What, Remus? I'm giving parenting advice. You should be proud, I usually suck at it."

"You _always_ do." Tallie giggles at her parents' bickering and quickly bids Lily and James Potter goodbye before smiling at the Malfoys and joining Harry and Draco at the entrance to the last train car. The gleaming scarlet of the train complemented the black sharply and the steam rose more thickly into the air as a whistle blew warningly. Students, decked in black, sapphire, gold, scarlet, and emerald robes rush onto the train with harried farewells and last-minute reminders. Tall, short, skinny, large, curvy, lithe, blonde, black-haired, brunette, ginger, and the like mixing together as the Hogwarts students amass onto the train at last.

"Be safe!" Lily calls out, still gripping James' hand in hers, aware that her husband was trembling slightly in grief over the reminder of his sister's demise. Remus and Sirius clasp his shoulders in support before backing away to an empty corner.

"I wish you didn't need to go. Tallie will be furious if she finds out you left without saying anything." Sirius whispers to his best friend. His lover. His soul-mate. His husband. Remus smiles fondly at the pouting man and kisses him lightly upon the lips, a gentle brush that brought to mind a thousand memories and a thousand future promises.

"Talianna will be fine. I have to; Dumbledore is worried over the werewolf movements in Northern Ireland. I'm the only one who can go."

"Be safe" Sirius sighs, letting his pout go to pull the wolf into a smothering embrace. Remus whuffs and smiles into the skin against Sirius' neck, inhaling his sweet scent. Someone had been dipping into his chocolate stash again.

"You know I always am."

* * *

The train ride flew past the excited first years before they really registered that it had started. Draco, Harry, and Tallie had secured a compartment with a few other first years named Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, Blaise Zabini, and Theodore Nott.

Theo, after discovering who he was sitting with, sneered at them and stalked out to find a compartment with 'people worth socializing with'. Ron had blushed red at the comment, but the others laughed it off. Tallie in particular. When the others looked curiously at her, the eleven year old merely shrugged.

"I have two fathers and no mother. People act like that sometimes when we go out in public. Father says not to let it bother me, since they're most likely simple-minded people. I agree." Tallie explained quickly, blushing slightly under all the eyes. Harry smiles at his friend and nudges her with his elbow, making her squeak in indignation.

"My father says the same thing, cause of the way he and mother turned against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named in the First War." Draco adds. Hermione, a bushy-haired superior looking girl, widens her eyes and peers closely at the three friends.

"Jiminy Cricket! You're Harry Potter! And you're Draco Malfoy!" Tallie pouts at being left out but smiles endearingly when Hermione smiles apologetically at her. "Sorry, you must be Talianna Black."

"Lupin. It's Talianna Lupin. It's fine. How do you know these dorks?" She sticks her thumbs towards the two boys; drawing offended 'hey!'s from them. Ron and Blaise snicker slightly before quailing under Hermione's hush.

"How can you not know? Harry's the Boy-Who-Lived!" Draco whipped his head around to stare at his friend of seven years accusingly. Tallie shrugs again, looking unimpressed. Harry's face morphs from nervousness to sadness.

"It's true, Draco. Mum and Dad just told me this summer, wanted to prepare me for it."

"How is it possible you didn't know?" Blaise demands. Harry shrugs his bony shoulder, his green eyes glued to the compartment floor.

"They wanted to protect him from the fame the rest of the wizarding world would have thrust upon him." Tallie pipes up, smiling encouragingly at Harry. All eyes turn to her.

"You don't seem too surprised." Ron comments, blushing slightly as her brown eyes burn into his.

"I remembered Aunt Kiana. Father and Dad had to explain her absence somehow and they decided the truth was the best. I didn't tell you, because I thought that you would be told when you were ready." Tallie mumbles apologetically to her brother-friend. Harry wraps his arm around her awkwardly for a side-hug. Draco makes kissy faces and receives two shoves for his dramatics.

"It's true then, that Kiana Potter shielded Harry from the curse?" Ron asks. Hermione shakes her head, her bushy hair shaking.

"No, You-Know-Who still cast the Killing Curse on Harry, but he deflected it somehow and it destroyed You-Know-Who. Hence the 'Boy-Who-Lived' title, Ron." She sniffs superiorly. Ron glares and turns slightly away from her. Harry had stopped listening, looking miserable. Tallie reaches for his hand, noticing that it's sweaty from nerves.

"She loved you a lot. My few memories of her are always of her holding you or playing with you. She loved you, Harry." Tallie whispers. Harry's mouth lifts up at the corner involuntarily and he nods, shaking himself and joining into the conversation as it slipped to Quidditch. Draco looks at Tallie during the discussion, catching her reassured smile and wink before joining in as well.

* * *

"_Slytherin!_" Harry pauses in his conversation with fellow Gryffindors, Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, and Neville Longbottom to watch as Draco swaggers off to his new house. The green, silver, and black clad students cheer impressively for his blonde friend, causing Harry to smile fondly.

"You're really friends with him, then? I heard his family are real arrogant pricks." Seamus says boldly. Harry shakes his head.

"They're just very proper. We met at a carnival when we were five, the one that's hosted here every summer. We— me, Tallie, and Draco— all got lost and wandered to the petting zoo. We bonded over this one crup puppy and from then on we were inseparable." Harry says shortly, but firmly. The others around them nod interestedly with the information and the older students begin to whisper about it. Harry watches as Tallie walks slowly to the stool. He had known her from birth, and he knew that she was hiding her nervous jitters by exaggerated calm-ness. He bit his lip to hide his chuckles as the hat slid down past her eyes.

Harry caught Draco's grey eyes and smiled warmly. Draco opened his mouth to say something when the hat gave its decision.

"_Slytherin_!"

Both boys' mouths dropped open as Tallie emerged, looking flushed but defiant as she saunters to Draco's side. Draco, realizing that he was making a scene with his astonishment, hugged Tallie tightly in welcome. She was shaking.

"It's going to be okay." He mutters as she looks up to see Harry mouthing the same thing. The feast continues and the new DADA teacher is introduced, a turban wearing Professor Quirrell. Tallie could smell him from here.

* * *

Potions was soothing. It was calming. It allowed her to think.

Tallie didn't want to think right now. It was the middle of November, and the snow was beginning to build up on the grounds. The steam from the cauldron fires was very welcome after traipsing back from the greenhouses and Hermione was dishing out a very interesting fact about the properties of toad liver in laughing draughts.

Her silver hair was pulled back in a neat French braid, a trick taught to her by Pansy Parkinson, who was too whiny for her, but nice all the same. Harry and Draco were closer to the front of the class, partnered with Ron and Crabbe. After the troll incident, Hermione had been welcomed into the group of friends Harry had amassed for himself in Gryffindor. Draco and Tallie had come to know Blaise, Vincent, Greg, and (unfortunately) Theo. Theo was a right prick. The three still made an effort to stay as close as before.

It was harder for Tallie. It was hard because she was jealous of the two boys— jealous that their families wrote to them every week and were happy about their houses and achievements. Harry had gotten onto the Quidditch Team! A letter with a fireworks charm embedded within it for him. Draco had scored 115% on his first Charms quiz! A box of goodies from around the world for him.

Tallie had been sorted into Slytherin and excelled in potions above all the others in her year except for Hermione. Silence from both her fathers for two and a half months for her. Had she truly done such an awful act?

Severus watched while his most promising student struggled with inner turmoil. Talianna Lupin was a package of surprises, alright. He'd tried to hate her— and found it much harder than loathing that Potter boy— but found her a challenge and a slight…delight as well. She was a spirited witch, that was for sure. She combined Lupin's intelligence with Black's cleverness (loath as Severus was to admit it) and none of the detestable arrogance seemed to have attached itself to the girl, even though she had been raised steeped in it, no doubt.

A hiss sounded throughout the classroom as a letter was slotted through the under-crack of his door. A red letter, already smoking, and hovering just before the very student he had just been contemplating.

It tore open, before anyone could think of shoving the poor girl and the letter into the hallway for _some_ privacy, and out poured an obviously drunken Sirius Black's voice.

"TALIANA LUPIN, YOU'VE GREATLY SHAMED THIS FAMILY. SLYTHERIN? WHAT A DISGRACE! ONLY MUCK AND FILTH ARE SORTED INTO SLYTHERIN! MY DISAPOINTMENT IN YOU CANNOT EVEN BEGIN TO BE EXPRESSED. YOU ARE DISOWNED! YOU ARE NO LONGER A LUPIN; WE'LL HAVE NO SLYTHERINS TAINTING THIS FAMILY!" The letter paused as it began tearing itself up, opening its 'jaws' once more. "OH AND YOUR FATHER HAS JUST BEEN FOUND. DEAD." Severus himself could not have withheld the gasp at those words. Only the Dark Lord had been so cruel in delivering such news. Talianna's small shoulders were rigid; her usually tanned skin a pale white and her eyes too wide as she stared at the ashy remains of the howler.

Potter and Draco stepped from their lab stations as loud whispers and exclamations broke out throughout his classroom. Talianna abruptly pushed away from her cauldron, the door to the Potion's classroom slamming open before she could touch it and allowing her to dash through faster than Potter and Draco could catch her.

They ran after her anyway and Severus was left to calm down and dismiss hysterical first years, make a very swift firecall to the headmaster, and make his way to the Hospital Wing with his strongest Calming Draught for when Talianna returned.

* * *

No sooner had Draco and Harry settled on either side of the shaking Tallie that they were springing away. Actually, Harry was yanking Draco away, pushing him rapidly up the nearest tree. He recognized what was happening, the tremors that foretold the inevitable transformation from girl to wolf.

"What's happening?" Draco shrieks as Tallie's body rips itself into a new form, this one crouched and low to the ground, young and half-grown. Harry held his friend's hand, keeping each other level on the tree branch. It had taken an hour to find Tallie by the lake edge— but being so close to the forest when she was like this was not a good thing.

"Tallie! Come here, girl!" Harry yells out hopefully. The young wolf, black as night with tufts of grey-brown scattered over her lithe body, turned chocolate brown eyes on them with a snarl. A howl rose as the cub lifted her muzzle. Its pitch struck the boys' hearts, making them wince from the hurt and confusion they could make from the sound.

"Tallie!" Harry's breath left him in relief as his dad's voice rang out over the grounds. Seconds later, the sound of hooves tearing at the heather of the Hogwarts' grounds greeted the wolf's howl. A stag bounded onto scene, attempting to cut off the cub's access to the forest.

"Harry, Draco!" Both boys look down to find Lily Potter with her arms outstretched.

"What's happening, mum?" Harry demands as he drops into her arms, turning to watch Draco do the same. His usually immaculate hair was mussed and his green and silver tie was thrown over his shoulder.

"Uncle Remus has been badly hurt, and Uncle Sirius didn't take it well." She said shortly, herding the boys behind her as they turned to watch the stag's attempts to soothe the wolf-cub. Tallie snarls as menacingly as a cub can before suddenly darting between the majestic stag's legs and disappearing into the foliage.

"No!" Harry and Draco's voices mingled into the afternoon air, following their now-lost friend.

"To the Hospital Wing, quickly! Dumbledore will be there!" James ordered as he transformed back, grabbing Harry's hand as Lily grasped Draco's. Together, they ran back to the castle, dread upon their hearts.

* * *

It was a bitterly long fight, coaxing pure silver into harmless brass, Severus muses as he begins yet another treatment of the Transmutation Draft on the comatose werewolf. He had been caught in his investigations and tortured with Embedding Jinxes using silver. Fragments and slivers of the metal were everywhere in his body. Upon his arrival eight months ago, Poppy and Severus had to immediately attack the bits directly near his heart and lungs, putting back his body's strength by a great length.

An irritated growl rose from his left, where a large, black dog sat on guard. It was scruffy and unkempt, but its grey eyes were alert for the slightest threat. Like an old school-enemy looming over his mate.

"Back off, mutt. I'm healing him." Severus mutters crossly, sneering at the dog, who doesn't respond. Black had been unresponsive and in mutt-form from the moment that Remus had arrived in the Hospital Wing. The day flashed back like a constant migraine, as it was oft to do.

~_Severus leaned back against the wall of the wing, exhausted from the battle to clear the silver fragments from around Lupin's heart. Black was in his irritable mutt-form, pacing back and forth at the end of Lupin's bed, whining softly in his throat. _

_The doors had burst open, interrupting Dumbledore and Poppy's conversation on their next steps to heal the werewolf. _

_"Tallies gone!" Potter had cried, leaning heavily against James Potter's side. Severus avoided Lily's eyes as she quickly explained what was happening. _

_Dumbledore, obviously concerned with the worry that would come if the news of an unstable wolf-child was running about the grounds got out, attempted to deter the search. Severus then did something that would change his life (to his distaste) forever. _

_"Send that insufferable groundskeeper and the centaurs in after her, Albus. I'm sure even that substitute teacher, Grubbly-Plank, would be willing to help search. This need not get out, but it could be more disastrous should we do nothing."_

_"Why do you care, Snape?" Potter Sr. snapped, his eyes flashing behind those idiotic glasses that he had passed down to his son. _

_"Ms. Black does not deserve such a fate." Severus said coldly before sweeping out of the room, leaving the students to explain what had happened with the howler_.~

Now, as he finishes massaging the potion down the slowly healing wolf's throat, another argument breaks out behind him. His migraine increases marginally and he turns around with a sharp crack of his robes.

"Lucius, just let the boy do what he wants. I have had to listen to his constant whinging for the past eight months." When Lucius looked as if he would continue the argument anyway, Severus continued. "Do not even make me bring up the Potter boy. I am this closed to bringing out the potion I developed in sixth year." Lucius closes his mouth slowly, grey eyes sizing up the seriousness of his threat before flicking once in acquiescence.

"Very well, Draco. You may try." He says softly, warning in his tone. Draco smiles and hugs his father about the waist (the boy had grown an inch already) and turns to the bed where the Potter boy lay.

Severus hid his snort of disgust as the events of what that insufferable child had done in the last few days were brought up in his throbbing mind. True, the distress from the continued disappearance of his best friend could explain his distrust of adults at the moment, but to go into the school's bowers after a stone and a deranged, possessed wizard? Completely idiotic and lethal!

"Harry! Harry wake up!"

"Lay off, Draco. He's still recovering." Ronald Weasley, not the brightest out there, but a loyal friend to the end in Severus's grudging opinion, spoke up in a harsh whisper. His face still bore the signs of the shards of chess pieces, but his glare caused Draco to stop just short of shaking the dark-haired boy awake.

"What's going on, Draco?" His mum had walked in with Harry's mum and dad, both looking tired and stressed out.

"I have a plan of how to get—" A groan interrupted the boy and everyone whipped around to look at the only other occupied bed in the Hospital Wing.

"Remus?" Potter breathed hopefully, loping closer, stopping only when the black mutt growled in warning, leaning over his mate.

"Wassagoinon?" Came the inarticulate reply. Severus waved his wand in the direction of Poppy's office, signaling her that the wolf had awoken. Severus then bent over the wolf, smacking the mutt on the nose when he attempted to snarl at him.

"Lupin, do not move just yet. You are still recovering from the torture." Severus says gently. The mutt beside him stops growling as Poppy comes in, holding a few crystals pulsing with a faint power.

"At last, I never thought this day would come. The rest of you, back up. James, pull Mr. Lupin away from the bed, if you will." Poppy orders as she sets a crystal one either side of Lupin's head, and another over his heart.

"These will keep his mind and heart strong and protected against the power of the removal charm." Severus explains gently to Lily, who stood a few feet away, twisting her hands anxiously. Lily's green eyes lock with his for a few seconds, slivers of trust growing more strongly within them.

"Ready yourself, Severus. I will need your focus for this." Severus nods, re-gripping his wand and leveling it at the indent of the wolf's collarbone.

"Transvecto deliquesco" Poppy began to chant in a melodious voice, Severus echoing her as they traveled their wands down the wolf's body. The world narrowed down to the spell, watching as his body glowed in a vibrant orange light, mist of the same colour rising from the bruised skin and reverting back to solid form into the basin that Poppy had available on the bedside table.

Minutes melted past until Severus felt a silken hand on his wand wrist. He looks up into emerald eyes framed by a heart-shaped face. Lily.

"It's done, Sev." She says gently. He nods, aware now of the sweat beading his forehead and upper lip. He steps back, letting her hand fall from his as he tucks his wand away to stare at the gasping wolf.

"You just need to regain your strength and let your body readjust to movement, Remus." Poppy says briskly, fluffing the pillows helping Lupin to sit up.

"Remus! Moony!" A raspy voice calls out, a grungy body flinging itself gently over the wolf as sobs wrung itself out of the throat.

"Sirius?" Lupin's voice was weak but happy.

"Do you feel any pain? Do you need water? I have a few books if you want to read. Do you want to read? The full moon's not for another three weeks, so you should be fine. Do you feel any remaining silver or brass? Can you feel all your limbs? Can you see me? How many fingers am I holding up?" Severus almost raised his hands to his ears but watched with interest as the wolf broke out into a loving smile and gently lifted a hand into the mutt's dirty locks.

"Why haven't you been bathing?"

"Because he's filth." Severus backed up to stand beside Narcissa as Lucius gripped Black's arms tightly behind his back and dragged him a few feet back. Potter stood before him, fuming, eyes flashing behind the spectacles.

"What's happening?" Severus whispered. Lily, on Narcissa's other side, leans forward.

"What's been eight months coming." She whispers harshly, her eyes flashing. She had her hands on Draco and Harry's shoulders, holding them back.

"James! What are you doing?" Remus yelped as James pulled back his fist and crashed it soundly into the mutt's jaw.

"You bastard! You're no better than your parents! How could you do that? What were you thinking? You acted exactly as one would expect from a Black!" James was yelling. Lily winced at the expression on her husband's face. The last time she had seen him this angry was after Kiana. Sirius' face was no better, graying rapidly as the insults James threw at him grew worse.

"James! Not in front of the children. I don't want Talianna exposed to this sort of stuff." Remus huffed breathlessly, yet still quieting James' tirade. Lily tightened her hands on the boys' shoulders as they themselves tensed. "Wait…where is she?"

"Moony" James walked forward gently, lowering his head slightly in warning at Sirius like a stag warning an enemy to back off. Remus shifts uncomfortably on his pillows and worry flashes in his weary, kind eyes.

"Prongs?"

"When…when we first found you, there was an incident." James stammered over how to tell his best friend. Severus took pity on the man for the first time in his life and stepped forward slowly, instantly gaining the wolf's attention.

"Your mate sent a howler to your daughter in the middle of my potions class. The howler told her that you had been killed. Talianna was extremely distressed and ran out to the lake, where she transformed and ran into the forest. We have been unable to locate her." Severus explained curtly. Remus paled too quickly to be healthy and he slumped back against the pillows. James reached out worriedly, everyone ignoring Sirius' growls as he attempted to get free of Lucius' hold.

"Moony?" James asks sadly as he sees his friend opening tear-bright eyes towards him.

"We have a plan, Uncle Remus." Draco interrupts the somber mood as he steps forward importantly. Harry keeps from rolling his eyes but nods as the adults turn to them.

"What is it, Draco?" James asks, hand clenched on Remus' shoulder in comfort as the wolf trembles slightly.

"I have an animagus form. I could transform and rub your scent over my fur. Then I could wait by the forest edge, with you behind me, and let your scent and Tallie's female instincts towards a cub call her forward." Draco explains proudly. Remus stops trembling as he thinks over the plan.

"What's your form?" Harry asks softly. Draco glares at him before mumbling something.

"Speak clearly, Draco. There is nothing to be ashamed of." Lucius growls, unhappy that a Malfoy Family secret had been revealed to so many Gryffindors. Draco picks up his blonde head and puffs out his chest.

"A lion" His bravado is ruined as he elbows the guffawing Harry in the side. "It's not funny!"

"A lion in Slytherin. I love it." Harry chuckles, wiping tears from his eyes, fingers sliding over the dark circles beneath them. The whole Stone business combined with the loss of Tallie had taken their toll on him night after night.

"Let's go. I want my cub back." Remus grunts as he leans forward with James' help.

"Remus…"

"Don't speak to me, Sirius. Just don't!" Remus adds with a snarl as Sirius' mouth opens again. Sirius shrinks back, hanging his head as Lucius lets go and steps around him to aid the werewolf into a waiting wheelchair that Narcissa had transfigured from a chair beside the bed.

"Draco, transform now so as to absorb as much as his scent as possible." Narcissa beckons. Draco nods deftly and then drops to the ground, a mewling pile of pale-white fur and teeth and needle-sharp claws. Harry coos at his best friend as he hefts him into his arms, carrying the grumbling cub to his Uncle's lap.

"Poppy, could you stay behind to prepare for Tallie?" Lily asks the nurse, double meaning in her questions. Poppy nods grimly, her eyes and wand locked on the shivering Sirius.

* * *

_Come on, Tallie. Don't I smell like your father? I'm a lonesome cub out here, too._ Draco thought invitingly as he paced the edge of the Forbidden Forest by the lake, where she had first disappeared. Remus was sitting in the wheelchair a few feet behind him, watching silently with the others behind him.

Draco sat on his pale hindquarters, tiny muscles bunching together under his lithe coat. He tipped his head back and yowled pitifully. He hissed when he heard Harry mutter, "I'm not sure he's really changed into another form." And flicked his tail irritably. He let loose another yowl.

A snuffle caught his attention and he spun around, falling clumsily over his wayward paws. A black muzzle was feet from him, poking out of the foliage. Shimmering brown eyes, copies of the man behind him, watch his every move with an intensity that made him shiver.

"Talianna, come here baby girl." A croon came from behind Draco and the wolf lifted her muzzle warily. She was small, barely out of cub-hood, but her steps were strong as she paced out of the forest, stopping inches from Draco with her jaws slightly parted.

"Tallie" Harry's voice joined the crooning. Draco widened his blue eyes and gave his best pouty face. _Take me home._ He begged piteously to her, knowing that she really couldn't hear him. His heart beat too rapidly within his chest at the sight of his long lost friend, but he maintained careful control over his emotions so as not to scare her off.

"Bright One" Everyone stiffened, Draco even tottered onto his side, at the Centaur's deep, solemn voice.

"Bane?" It was Harry's voice, a disbelieving whisper that identified the black-as-night magical being. Yet, he ignored the rest as he locked his dark eyes on the silver-marked black wolf. Tallie cocked her head to the side and cantered a bit back towards the forest. Draco growled at that.

"Bright One, you have a choice. Your destiny is a choice." Tallie yipped as Bane inclined his regal head and disappeared within the trees with a faint rustle. Eyes swiveled to watch what Tallie's next move would be.

The black and grey wolf shook her coat out and marched to where Draco lay.

_Hey! _ Draco snarled as his scruff was latched onto by sharp incisors and his body was carted into the air. He hung limply, as his cub instincts told him he should do.

"Aww" _One more comment, Harry, and you'll become lion-mush. _Draco thought murderously as he was dropped onto Remus' lap and the wolf sniffed cautiously around the entire werewolf.

Suddenly, raw magical power manifests in a silver light from the black wolf as her sniffing freezes and her body goes rigid.

"_Pack…pack…pack…pack…PACK…PACK…PACK…PACK!"_ Draco grumbles and hops off of the werewolf's lap to change back, clapping his hands to his ears as he watches Tallie cower on the ground before Remus, whimpering pathetically as her magic brings her thoughts to life.

"I'm here, Talianna. Father is right here. Don't you want to change back? You can be with papa if you change back." Remus coaxes softly.

"_PACK! PACK! PACK! PACK! PACK! PACK!"_ She continues to scream mentally. Remus nods encouragingly.

"Yes, pack is here. Right here. Change back, baby cub. Change back, Talianna." Tallie whimpers again before trembling with the change. The transformation took many a moment, every second of it a battle for the girl too long in her animagus form.

At last, a shivering, dirt-covered eleven year old sat crouched on the ground, gasping as she stares into Remus' face. Remus' cheeks are marked with tears as he holds his arms out for Tallie. Tallie shudders and struggles to her knees. Draco moves up behind her, letting his cloak rustle out behind him to protect her from the evening breeze, and gently heaves her up from her armpits. She whirls and stares at him with wild eyes, teeth bared in a challenge.

"Tallie" He gasps out before her fingertips are digging into his cheeks. Her eyes calm slightly, but her nostrils flare as she takes in his scent, leaning close enough that her eyebrows brush his lips.

"Pack" She rumbles in a voice so rough that it hurts to hear. She raises her eyes to his and presses her fingers deeper. Draco breathes in quickly but nods sharply in affirmation. Thin arms wrap around them both seconds later and Harry's relieved face joins their staring contest. Tallie looks at him and grasps his chin tightly in one hand while keeping her grip on the other. "Pack"

"Tallie, I've always been pack." Harry murmurs, baring his neck for her to take in his scent as she had done to Draco.

"Pack" She whispers again as the boys let her go to see if she will go back to Remus, who waits impatiently. Instead, she crumples to the ground in exhaustion.

"I've got her." Harry nearly faints against Draco as Lucius bends down and sweeps the young witch into his arms. Draco tugs him over to his mother as they watch the silent battle of wills going on between the fair-haired wizard and witch. Narcissa fights the smile coming to her lips as she looks at Lucius battling his own smile.

"Pack" She tugged his hair.

Talianna tugged Lucius Malfoy's hair.

Both Narcissa and Draco drew in a sharp breath, stepping forward to intercede the inevitable explosion from that action.

Lucius Abraxas Malfoy reached a hand up, grasped a few tangled locks of silver hair and tugged. "Pack, child."

This time, Harry did faint. As did James. Like father, like son. Literally.

* * *

"Dad, I want to talk to you about something." Harry whispers softly as he lets go of the slumbering witch's hand. Draco curled more tightly around her small frame, muttering incoherently in his sleep. James nodded and pulled his son a few feet away, where they could still gaze upon the sleeping pair.

"What is it, son?" Draco would not be separated from Tallie when she had been put under a Sleeping Draught after her examination by Poppy. He had hissed at anyone who tried to pull him away and curled up around James' goddaughter, tucking her head under his chin and wrapping his arms protectively around her torso.

"I want to become an animagus." James whipped his head down to look at his very serious son. Instead of bursting into furious "Absolutely not!"s, he studied his son, who had been through such dangerous challenges this year— trolls, lethal chess pieces, Voldemort-possessed professors, and _Snape_— and finally nodded.

"We'll start tomorrow."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the bed, two men watched their children sleeping in quiet contemplation. Lucius had one hand on the handle of the werewolf's chair; while Remus let his eyes fall to slits, watching the aura come to life before his eyes.

"I know you see it." He says without preamble. Lucius hums softly under his breath and shifts restlessly. His ponytail is once more perfect after the tugging it had received from the girl, and his grey eyes travel over his son and 'pack' member.

"The silver soul-mate bond shimmering between my son and your daughter? I do." Lucius murmurs at last. Remus nods, clasping his hands together as he slumps tiredly in his chair. His eyes flit reluctantly over to where his mate sits, on the other side of the ward. Reconciliation would be a long time coming after the atrocity he had done to Remus' cub. How _dare_ him— Remus shook his head to clear it of the urge to both rip Sirius' face off and kiss him until he can't breathe.

"Talianna has one with Harry as well." Remus adds.

"Why do you tell me this, Lupin?"

"Call me Remus. And is it not obvious?" Lucius grumbles slightly before nodding.

"It is, Remus. If Talianna shares a soul-mate bond with both, then eventually the one between the boys will awaken and they will become the first Triad in over five decades." Both men returned to watching their children, contemplating the future.

* * *

The middle of August was always the hottest part of summer. In their sprawling cottage two-story house in Ilkley, the small wizarding village in West Yorkshire, the Potters, Lupins, and Malfoys laze about the house in small groups.

It had been a difficult summer for Talianna, who was just now caught up in her studies and becoming fluent in human-speak again. The long-lasting effects of her eight-month transformation are muscles that are half-wolf, as well as an unnatural stillness for such a bubbly child. Her instincts are also half-wolf as well, not that that was much of a hindrance. She won any staring contest with Uncle Lucius nowadays.

It had been a difficult summer for Remus, who was struggling with the separation from his soulmate and best friend and recovering his health and strength from the attack. He tried to keep his visage fierce when he met Sirius for those secret, hour-long, after-dinner talks outside the Potter Cottage, but he was slowly melting before the pleading animagus.

It had been a difficult summer for James, Lily, Lucius, and Narcissa as they watched young Tallie struggle with the errs of her dad and Remus struggle with his heartache and a broken child.

Now, though, was a morning and afternoon of laughter for Harry, Tallie, and Draco. Through much cajoling and pleading on Harry and Tallie's side, and polite questioning on Draco's, they had convinced James to go and pick up the latest Weird Sisters record. It was now playing loudly through the speakers of the gramophone and the adults were thoroughly regretting it.

"Mother?" Narcissa looks up from her headache-relief tea, handed to her by Lily, and smiles encouragingly as her son steps through the kitchen doorway.

"Draco, what is it? The music is too loud?" Lucius asks hopefully. Draco smirks and shakes his head, stopping to lean against the counter beside Aunt Lily.

"No, I just wanted to ask how Tallie did on her final exams." Lily and Narcissa share an indulgent smile as Lucius taps his wand against his palm.

"Why isn't Talianna asking us?"

"She had a nightmare last night…S-she didn't want to relapse into wolf-speak if she spoke to you." Draco explains somberly. The adults nod, letting their eyes wander around the grey and dull red coloured kitchen, modern with a touch of country chic in the wooden table and counters. It was worn, but clearly full of love.

"She passed with exceptional marks. Her charms could use a bit of work, but the incantations are difficult enough as it is." Lily supplies. Draco lets a full smile slip through his calm façade.

"Tallie's really advanced in the transition. She can go almost a whole day without relapsing." He tells them proudly. Narcissa smiles at her son's excitement. He had had another growth spurt, which meant that they had to take his robes back to Twilfitt&Tattings to be fitted again. The rest of the children's' school supplies were already purchased, from which she still owed Lucius five massages for chaperoning that particular shopping trip. The poor man.

James, on the other hand, was opening the door to Potter Cottage with a smile on his face. Remus was expected back from work around five, and it was 4:59 on the dot.

"Moon— What the F—!" James manages to withhold his expletive as he sees Remus standing on his doormat, holding hands with his estranged husband. Though, from the brilliant love bites on his neck, not so estranged anymore.

"We've reconciled, Prongs!" Sirius crows happily. James narrows his hazel eyes, his glasses make them glint dangerously. Both canines bristle slightly.

"Have you talked to Tallie about this?" James questions. Remus ducks his head, his shame prominent. James shakes his head, disappointment welling in his stomach and making Lily's excellent lamb chops questing to come back out. "You're just going to force her into a room with him, then?" James runs a hand through his hair, mussing it up in the old way. Remus raises his head, his eyes glinting amber as the bond manifests protectively.

"She hasn't had any sort of contact with her dad. If she's to get over what happened, she needs to see him."

"I miss my little girl. I wasn't in my right mind those eight months, James. I don't even remember sending the howler." Sirius says mournfully.

"That doesn't excuse you!" James snaps, fighting his stag's instincts to lower his head and present his crown of antlers in a challenge to stop them from hurting one of his fawns. Sirius rumbles in his chest before breathing deeply and standing up straighter, linking his hand more firmly with Remus'.

"We're here to get Tallie." He says firmly. All three adults can hear the riotous sounds of the Weird Sisters newest song, 'Fire Newt', rumbling from the sitting room, where the children were playing. James closes his eyes against the determination he saw in the two men's eyes. He bit his tongue to stop the bile from erupting from his throat, the disappointment as bitter as bad tea.

"You're going to hurt her, Remus. Think of that." He says urgently as he steps aside. His warning is ignored as the two men rush past, eager to make their family whole again.

In the sitting room, or the Ocean Place, as it was deemed by Tallie, was splashed with blues and whites, the foam crashing up from the painted-on waves appearing almost tangible. The open windows held chimes that had the rush of the waves and the call of the gulls sweeping through the room with each gust of wind. A large white sofa, plush and soft, stood in the center with a thick Persian rug taking up half of the floor. The fireplace sat cold and empty, but for the gramophone being used before it.

A dark-haired boy used a seashell from the mantle as his microphone as he warbled out another verse. His best friend, small but muscular from her months in the forest, danced back-up behind him, adding a shrill voice to their sing-a-long. Draco had gone to the kitchens for some pumpkin juice a few minutes ago, missing the best part of 'Enchanting Jinxes', where the lead singer went positively ballistic on the guitar. Tallie swung her waist-length silver hair in a circle, like a skirt, as she used her wolf-grace to dance around the rug on her tip-toes. Harry spun with her, hopping like a clumsy kangaroo, his laughter joining hers.

A door creaking had both pausing to peer at the face peeping through.

"Father!" Tallie almost howls in welcome. She blushes a pale pink at her slip, but keeps smiling as Remus smiles lovingly at her. She loved his smile; it made his tired face appear as young as it really was. His hair, when he remembered to comb it, was still a mousy brown with bits of grey. She couldn't wait to test her Colour Charm on him for 'homework purposes' before dinner. Her mind shied away from the laughing face with sparkling grey eyes that popped up at that thought, turning inward and retreating with an internal whimper.

"Talianna, are you making a mess?" Remus asks mock-sternly. Tallie giggled and pointed at Harry.

"He started it!"

"Hey!" His emerald eyes flashed merrily as he watched Tallie prancing back and forth before her father, nearly vibrating with happiness. The shimmering light that glowed off the walls from the setting sun made her seem even happier. He laughed freely from that sight alone.

"No matter. Tallie, I want you to talk with someone. Alright?" Remus had already waved his wand at the gramophone to lower the volume so that they were no longer shouting to be heard. Tallie bounced up and down on the balls of her dainty feet, nodding impishly while her chocolate eyes were bright with curiosity. Remus watched her with gentle eyes, his love nearly tangible.

The door pushed open, revealing who had been standing just behind her father and—

"_Pack! Danger! Protect! Pack! PACK!" _Tallie stumbles back against the corner of the table beside the couch. Two photographs— one of a cheering Potter family at the Quidditch World Cup two years ago decked out in Australian colours and the other of three toothily grinning kids, two with white-blonde hair and the other with hair dark as night— are knocked to the ground, their delicate glass covers shattering over the thick grey rug. The seashell lamp clatters to the ground right after them, sand dollars and mollusks scattered among the sea of glass slivers.

Tallie, uncaring of the mess, continues scrambling backwards, seeking refuge from the rush of violent emotions burning through her frail body. In the last few seconds of her panicked escape, her foot caught against the footrest sitting before the fireplace, sending her crashing into the corner of the room. Her mental-magic was still screaming the first phrase, echoing loudly over the screeching of 'Kelpies' Love Song'; she hid her face against the wall, her body already trembling with the urge to change forms and escape the overwhelming memories.

"Tallie!" Harry shrieked, as he leapt after his friend. His body morphed mid-leap, changing into the form he had painstakingly achieved days before his birthday. His ebony coat shimmering from the light off of the walls, his small body curling over the right side of the hysterical witch with a soothing purr. Though a cub, his body shielded her effectively from the sight of what had terrorized her so much.

"Talianna" Remus choked out, horrified by his cub's reaction to her dad. Sirius was hanging onto the doorframe, his heart trying to beat out of his chest in guilt. His little girl was curled into the corner of the room like a hopelessly caged animal. A coughing hiss rumbled from the hallway and he stumbled forward as another furry body jumped past him, skirting the sea of glass and shells, and curling up protectively on Tallie's left side, his fuzzy, pale head burying into her silver hair. Tufts of black fur wavered over the girl's bronze skin, peeking in and out of sight.

"_Pack…Pack….pack…"_ Her voice caught on ragged sobs torn from a shifting throat, the small girl curling in on herself as much as possible. Harry rumbled in his throat, forcing a purr out instead of snarl towards the threat to his pack member. His emerald eyes glare accusingly at the two men, his teeth baring in warning should they dare step closer while Draco wrapped a paw, with difficulty, over the girl's stomach. Her head was wrapped in her bony arms, her body slowly calming from the shield her pack mates were providing.

"What's going on in here?" Lily demands hotly as she and Narcissa burst into the room. Lucius and James step in behind them, both wearing grim expressions.

"We've come to take Talianna home." Remus says sadly, eyes locked on his calming cub. She was slowly slipping into slumber.

"Are you completely daft, Remus? You will set back any recovery that she has made within hours! Look at her after just one glimpse!" Lily hissed, keeping her voice low so as not to disturb the sleeping child. Harry and Draco growl threateningly as Sirius shuffles forward a few inches.

"She has had almost two months to recuperate, Lily. It's time our family was together again." Remus said firmly, eyes shifting amber again. Lily's eyes grew wide, a mirror image of her son's, while her mouth hung open at the ferocity of the gentle wolf's tone.

"I once considered you the only intelligent boy of the Gryffindors in your year, Lupin. My mistake." Lucius snarls softly, his face almost showing his anger at the stupidity of the couple. Narcissa nods stiffly in agreement. Sirius and Remus both bristle at the insult.

"That's enough. I thank you for letting us stay here, James, Lily, but we'll be returning home to the Den now." Remus growls as he walks towards his cub. Draco and Harry stand to attention, hackles drawn up and teeth bared in challenge.

"Lily, Malfoy, make them move." Sirius barks. Lily closes her eyes and lets James be the one to command Harry to their side. The jaguar gives an unwilling snarl as the order from his sire is given. Draco whimpers, resisting his father's hiss for several minutes before whining with each paw step away from his pack member.

As soon as the two cubs were out of sight, Remus slipped his arms under his daughter's shoulders and knees, barely jostling her as he cradled her to his chest. Sirius steps up to his side as they walk outside of the house, ignoring the furious entourage trailing behind them.

"Why do you refuse to listen to reason?" Narcissa asks them before they step beyond the wards of the cottage. Remus doesn't look back, letting Sirius answer.

"It's our family. We know what's best." He grips Remus' shoulder and they disapparate with a _Crack_! leaving two cubs whining at the separation of their pack.


	2. Chapter 2

**Title**: There is Always a Choice

**Disclaimer**: J.K. Rowling, the lucky witch, owns Harry Potter and all its affiliates. If I owned it, I would have taken over the world by now.

**Rating**: I'm going to rate it M, just in case. Not sure how descriptive I'll get in this thing yet.

**Pairings**: That would spoil the story… but I'll throw ya'll a bone. Pairings HP/DM, RW/HG, RL/SB, JP/LE, LM/NM, and BZ/LL.

**Warnings**: Mild violence (so far), foul language, AU plot, Angst, Romance, Tragedy, and anything else that will bring your 'feels' to bursting.

**Summary**: There is always a choice, that's what they say, right? It has never been truer and the world of Harry Potter (with a few twists) is about to discover this truth both the hard and the easy way.

**Author's Notes**: This chapter is pretty short, as not much happens. Like I said, the first few years are skimmed over to build the foundation for the bigger part of this story. Enjoy!

_There is Always a Choice_

_Chapter II: I am stronger_

_"I'm here. I love you. I don't care if you need to stay up crying all night long, I will stay with you. There's nothing you can ever do to lose my love. I will protect you until you die, and after your death I will still protect you. I am stronger than Depression and I am braver than Loneliness and nothing will ever exhaust me." – Eat, Pray, Love_

"Shut it, you prejudiced prick!"

"And let you keep spouting your goody-good yip-yap? I don't think so!"

"That's rich! Your nose is still brown from the arse-kissing you've been giving Snape since first year!"

"What about you? You and your precious Lockhart—"

"I can't stand to see them fight like this." Blaise whispers worriedly to Pansy as the entire common room watches the two tight-knit friends locked in their screaming match. This entire year had been tense, too tense. Between the Chamber of Secrets being reopened and their daft DADA teacher, stress levels were running way too high.

"Things change, Blaise. It was only a matter of time before his father's old views caught up to Draco. This is what he needs."

"True" Blaise concedes to the girl's response. She had matured over the summer when her mother had been killed by a vampire, growing both in perceptiveness and biting wit. "What about Tallie, though? How will this benefit her?" Both flinch as wands were brandished between the squabbling pair, tips glowing with various colours as hexes began spilling from lips. The prefects are already swarming into the fray, collars yanked back and wands clattering to the ground before Professor Snape is roused from his rooms from the raucous.

Tallie glares at Draco, her heart hammering like a hummingbird in her chest from the adrenaline. Their friendship was crumbling around them, already cracked from all of their fights this year. How could he even suggest that this chamber was a good thing? After Gin-Ginny… She choked out a sob and wrenched herself free from the glaring prefect and ran out of the common room before her mental magic broke free.

She let her hand slide along one wall to guide her as she wrestled with her thoughts. Wolf-speak was stomping over and around human-speak, singular thoughts such as 'pack', 'protect', 'danger', and 'betrayal'. Always betrayal.

The ends of her hair tickled the back of her neck and she scratched it with her ragged fingernails absentmindedly. She hadn't gotten around to maintaining them since the attacks first started. She was too busy ruining any pranks/attacks on Harry by the few, completely idiotic students who believed him to be the 'Heir of Slytherin' after that whole dueling club incident.

Her steps echoed in the empty Entrance Hall as she paused at the bottom of the stairs, craning her slender neck to look straight up into the darkness spotted here and there with orange glows from the torches. Her head, even after all these months, still feels uneven from being so light. Upon regaining her sanity at the very end of last summer, her mind seized on something, anything, to stay focused upon instead of relapsing back into the green oblivion of her wolf form. So, with gleeful rebellion, she had found a pair of kitchen shears and chopped off all of her hair. She attempted to style it in the new craze, a 'pixie cut', and was somewhat successful. Her bangs had been way off center and she had nicked her neck and ears several times.

The uproar her 'parents' had kicked up when they came home early to get ready for an important Auror Gala that Sirius had to attend with the family had been refreshing. They didn't speak to her for the entire event, and the silence had been so golden. It had resumed immediately the next morning when she left for Hogwarts. Every day a letter from each, imploring for every detail, every minute of her day. 'How are you?' 'What are you doing today?' 'Like your classes?' 'What's for lunch/dinner/breakfast/snack?' and it went on and on and on. She barely escaped having to go home for Christmas, claiming some extra credit project for her Charms class— she had begged Professor Flitwick for two weeks straight before he agreed to give her one.

The terrible chill that surrounded the castle after her Head of House's announcement finally invaded her body's warmth. She couldn't be stuck with Sirius and Remus for the rest of her schooling days. Remus would insist on home-schooling her, she knew. Durmstrang was far too expensive and Sirius hated Beauxbatons on principle. No way would they let her consider the Salem Institute in America, either.

And she needed to stay here anyway. Ginny had been taken. Ginny, who was so excited about her first year at Hogwarts, nursing a crush on Harry, and fighting out from under the shadows of her brothers. She could practically feel them all now, huddled in their lion's den and leaning on each other for comfort. Her chest ached from the need to join them.

She wouldn't, though. Harry had kept his distance from his best friend this year. Her mind churned glumly over what his motive could be. It was probably to get away from Draco and hers' fighting. Her eyes, already crumby from not getting any wink of sleep during the night since the news had broken, stung with extra fierceness. Her muscles trembled faintly and she forced her feet up the stairs with gritted teeth. She was way too emotional and a Calming Draught from Madame Pomfrey would ease the temptation to 'go wolf'.

* * *

The train rumbles cheerfully over the tracks, students chattering and talking joyfully among themselves. The terror was gone, thanks to some miracle. Ginny Weasley was alive, the monster was dead, and Lockhart was gone.

What only a few people knew was that the miracle was actually a little trio of Gryffindors. Harry and Ron, who had braved the Chamber, and Hermione, who had led them to it. Draco sat beside Harry, still fussing every time Harry winced from his tender shoulder. A bit of falling rock had fractured it and it was fresh from healing. Hermione sat on his other side, reading a thick tome labeled in Latin. Ron was with his brothers and sister in another compartment, relishing in their sister's return. Blaise, Pansy, and Neville sat on the other side, playing a boring game of Exploding Snap.

The door snaps open to reveal Theodore Nott with Vincent Crabbe at his shoulder. An arrogant smirk crossed his face at the sight before him. Harry frowned, reminding himself that he and Ron had tricked the tosser with Polyjuice without him even knowing to keep his temper down.

"Well, well, if it isn't—"

"Theo, darling, why don't you go insult something with the same intelligence as you? I saw a very pleasant door frame three compartments down. It could use a chat." A sweet voice interrupted him, coming from the hallway next to him. Theodore reddened slightly and turned to glare at the person who had ruined his fun. It was bad enough the mudbloods were now safe!

"What's it to you, mutt?" Theo snarls.

"If that's the best you can do, then maybe a dust mote would be more appropriate for you. Then again, I think I'm insulting dust motes everywhere." came the amused reply. The friends in the compartment were on their feet as Theo pulled out his wand, pointing it out of sight where his taunter stood.

"Don't you dare." Draco warns coldly, barely keeping his lips from pulling back to bare his teeth. Theo appraises them as Crabbe cracks his knuckles threateningly.

"Now you're defending her? You've treated her worse than a mudblood this entire year." He shakes his head sadly. "I almost thought you were coming to your senses, Malfoy." Theo stowed his wand back and walked away. Blaise sticks his head out into the hallway and beckons to the girl standing there.

"Where have you been? We're almost to the station." He asks when she doesn't show any sign of moving. Tallie shakes her head and tugs the hem of her Beatles t-shirt.

"Your compartment was full, so I was sitting with Justin and his friends." She shrugs as an added measure. Blaise leans forward and latches onto her wrist, dragging the reluctant witch into the compartment.

"That's a horrible excuse. There are eight seats here. Sit down." Blaise huffs and pushes her gently onto the seat beside him. Neville smiles nervously at her as she sits ramrod straight and looks at him to avoid looking at the others.

"Tallie" She looks over at Hermione, her lips in a thin line to keep back a snarl. The bushy-haired Gryffindor was biting her lip with bright eyes, remorse clear on her face. "Can we talk?" She asks after a moment of tense silence. The two boys next to her were looking determinedly at their feet, unsure of their place with the silver-haired witch.

"If you want me to apologize for what happened in the Hospital Wing after Ginny was found then—"

"We know you had a good reason!" Hermione interrupts. Tallie narrows her eyes and opens her mouth when Harry looks up.

"I know we should have told you what was going on. We were wrong to keep that from you, especially after last year. I just couldn't take the fighting you and Draco had going on. I get enough of it from Ron and Hermione, no offense Hermione." He adds hastily at Hermione's blustering. Tallie attempts to talk again.

"Will—"

"I'm sorry too. I was being a git. I never meant what I said about the Chamber, I promise." Draco whispers without looking up. Tallie stands up and stomps her foot loudly on the carpeted-metal floor.

"_Will you let me finish_?" She nearly shrieks. Everyone in the compartment nods hastily at the dangerous look on the small girl's face. "Thank you! What I was trying to say is that…well…" She swallows forcibly and rushes it out. "IwaswrongtofreakoutlikethatandIshouldn'thavelostcontrolsoeasily." It took a minute for everyone to work out what she had said and then Harry and Draco were on their feet, arms around their best friend in an unforgiving embrace. Tallie's eyes stung again and she clamped her teeth on her tongue to stop the flow of tears as she wrapped her arms around them.

"I shouldn't have fought with you like that, I'm sorry—"

"Staying away from you was stupid. I can't believe I did that—"

"I didn't mean to lose control like that, really—"

They pause as they all spoke at once, smiling hesitantly at each other. Hermione subtly moved next to Neville to allow the three to sit on the seat and talk everything out. Pansy and Blaise smile at the sight, grateful that everyone had come to their senses.

As the train was pulling into King's Cross, Blaise turned slightly in the train corridor to look at the trio of friends behind him. "Draco? Why did you start fighting with Tallie?" He whispers. Draco steps forward so as not to be overheard.

"I was trying to get a reaction from her. She was so…so withdrawn from the world when school started." He confesses, looking at his smiling housemate with relief.

"Because of what her parents did?" Blaise inquires. Draco nods his head sharply and reaches his hand back to clasp onto Tallie's in comfort as they neared the doors to the platform. Harry and he had already worked out a schedule for visiting Tallie, and having her come over, for the summer. True, they had worked it out in five minutes when on a break to the loo after they had resolved their differences with the stubborn witch, but it was something to work with, nevertheless.

"Sleepover, my house tomorrow?" Draco asks, catching Harry's eye behind Tallie. He grins and takes her other hand, noticing her shoulders loosening at the support around her. Her chocolate eyes light up at the prospect of escaping her house so soon and she nods with fervor.

"I would love to."


	3. Chapter 3

**Title**: There is Always a Choice

**Disclaimer**: J.K. Rowling, the lucky witch, owns Harry Potter and all its affiliates. If I owned it, I would have taken over the world by now.

**Rating**: I'm going to rate it M, just in case. Not sure how descriptive I'll get in this thing yet.

**Pairings**: That would spoil the story… but I'll throw ya'll a bone. Pairings are HP/DM, RW/HG, RL/SB, JP/LE, LM/NM, and BZ/LL.

**Warnings**: Mild violence (so far), foul language, AU plot, Angst, Romance, Tragedy, and anything else that will bring your 'feels' to bursting.

**Summary**: There is always a choice, that's what they say, right? It has never been truer and the world of Harry Potter (with a few twists) is about to discover this truth both the hard and the easy way.

**Author's Notes**: This year is a bit longer, to better work in the changes occurring within our favorite characters. Enjoy!

_There is Always a Choice_

_Chapter III: Pain lessons. But it is never gone._

_"It has been said, 'time heals all wounds.' I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone." – Rose Kennedy_

"He didn't mention anything to you about it?" Draco asks for the tenth time. Tallie throws another blasting curse at the wall of their common room. They had left the Welcoming Feast as soon as they could, mostly to get Tallie calmed down.

"I'm not surprised. He and Sirius have been doubly-engrossed with each other lately. That's why it was so easy to stay away nearly the entire summer at yours and Harry's places. Thanks again, for that." Tallie shifts in her armchair before the fire to look her companion in the eye, smiling at him gratefully. "You two kept me sane and I have so much more control over the wolf now." Draco smiles and stretches out his lanky form. The git had gone and had another growth spurt. He was nearly four inches taller than her now! Harry had only grown an inch, thankfully, but still!

"With Remus as our DADA teacher, you'll get half as many nosy letters." Draco points out helpfully. She scowls back at him, tossing her regrown hair behind her shoulders.

"He's already sent me a note about eating lunch and dinner with him three times a week and using my Hogsmeade trips to visit Sirius for lunch to catch up. He's planning my life for me! I can't stand the way they treat me anymore." Tallie bursts out. Draco stays silent; having nothing to say that will soothe the angered teen.

Thankfully, the wall slides open to reveal a mussed and bemused Blaise. Tallie and Draco watch with confusion as he walks dreamily over to them, slumping onto the couch.

"Er…Blaise?" Tallie ventures cautiously. The dark-skinned boy smiles in their direction.

"I hadn't realized Pansy was such a good kisser." Tallie and Draco broke out into laughter. Oh yes, the hormones were unleashing themselves at last.

* * *

Hormones were an understatement. The sudden discovery of girls to the boys and boys to the girls was like a World War. Hogsmeade visits and the hours after dinner were dedicated to stumbling across snogging couples in random corridors and tables were filled at the Three Broomsticks with moony-eyed couples.

The third year boys of Gryffindor and Slytherin (with the exception of Theodore and Crabbe) were out one day in March, before the Easter holidays, soaking up the last few hours of sunlight before darkness. Their exams had ended at last and bags were happily abandoned in their common rooms. Games of Exploding Snap and Wizard chess were scattered throughout the boys and the conversation was light and teasing.

"I heard Millicent isn't much of a kisser, Greg." Draco states after checkmating the Slytherin for the third time. Around him, the boys quieted down to listen to this piece of news. Greg flushed and glowered at the blonde, who smiled innocently.

"She's fine." He grunts. Blaise chuckles and elbows Ron slightly in the side, eliciting snickers from the long-haired red head. "Pansy's not much better, Zabini!" Blaise wrinkles his nose and nods.

"I can't disagree with you there. Too much tongue. I prefer Lavender. Much more enthusiasm." He waggles his eyebrows as the others laugh and some agree. Draco and Harry roll their eyes at the mention of the daft witch.

"What about Terry?" Dean pipes up. Harry flushes and glares at his housemate, who winks. Heads swivel to look at the blushing Gryffindor, who shifts in discomfort.

"He wasn't bad." Harry mumbles at last. Draco snorts.

"Bad? You told me he kept stopping to analyze each part of it. 'Too wet, Harry? Too much tongue? Too little? What if we twist our heads to the side? No, not a 35 degree angle, a 45!'" Draco reenacts as Harry buries his head into his arms in the grass while the others roar with laughter.

"You can't say much, Draco! You were particular starry-eyed after kissing both Padma and Zacharias in one night!"

"Traitor!" Draco growls at the beaming Blaise, who yelps a second later and dives behind Ron to avoid the Stinging Hex sent his way.

"Someone's turning into a little player, isn't he?" Seamus laughs at the blushing blonde. His eyebrows are singed from the latest round of exploding snap.

"And you aren't?" Harry chuckles. The boy had had dates every single night for an entire month this year!

Seamus frowns slightly and tugs at some grass. "Not anymore." He mumbles. The silence is thick over the boys as they look at their suddenly despondent friend.

"What's up, mate?" Ron treads carefully. The boy was known for his Irish temper lately. Said boy shrugged and tore at the grass beneath his fingers, shaking his shaggy sandy hair from his eyes to glare at the lake, as if blaming it for his love troubles.

"It's me girl. We're not steady or nothin', mind ye. Only been on a couple of dates, really. But she's interested in someone else, too." Seamus mumbles downheartedly. Dean claps him on the back in sympathy. Neville shifts onto his stomach, finally joining into the conversation now that it was serious. He had been quietly dating Hannah Abbott and didn't like to share the details about their interactions with the others. Plus, he was well aware of Seamus' situation.

"Who's she interested in?" Greg asks. Seamus' expression darkens.

"That idiot Hufflepuff, Justin Finch-Fletchley." Justin was the 'hottest Hufflepuff' according to the other third year girls. The others insult the boy appropriately to make their friend feel better. Their vocabulary has definitely expanded this year.

"She'd be a fool not to pick you, Seamus." Harry adds when the insults get weaker. Seamus avoids eye contact with the boy, feeling awkward. Draco and Blaise pick up on it instantly and grey and bright blue eyes narrow suspiciously.

"Who exactly is this girl, Seamus?" Draco questions. The Irishman's freckles nigh disappear beneath his blush as he mumbles a garbled name. Neville chuckles at the impending chaos, waving cheerily at the glare the dead-meat-boy throws him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear that. Say again?" Blaise questions with a smile, catching on. Ron is buried in the grass, laughing while Harry watches with a confused expression.

"It's Tallie. There, I said it!" Seamus exclaims, scrambling to his feet as both Draco and Harry's faces flush with fury.

"WHAT?!" They exclaim, shooting to their feet as well, going at their year-mate from both sides. He yelps and freezes as wands are leveled at his tender bits.

"She's off-limits!" Harry growls, his emerald eyes flashing dangerously as the jaguar snarls silently just beneath his skin. In his mind, an echoing roar of a lion bounces about as Draco nods fiercely in agreement.

"Ye've got to be kiddin' me! If she's off-limits to us, then she's goin' to turn to the older blokes. Do ye really want that?" Seamus demands. The two boys pale and then flush again at the thought.

"None of you wankers are good enough for her." Draco snaps anyway.

"Does she know the bounty you've placed on any guy that shows interest in her?" Neville questions.

"Of course not."

"And if she did?" Ron asks rhetorically.

"It's for her own good." Draco retorts. Seamus snorts and grabs onto some extra courage he had hidden somewhere, thankfully.

"Listen you two, I'm sorry for not getting' your bloody blessin' or whatever it is ye call it. I really like Tallie. She's fit, she's sassy, and she can hold her own in Quidditch. She's perfect." Seamus' eyes go slightly distant as his brain is taken over by thoughts of a silver-haired witch with blazing, brown eyes. Draco bares his teeth, his mind screaming to hex this idiot into a pile of goo. He knew all of that about Tallie. She had nearly brought their team to victory this year had he been a bit faster with the damn snitch. She was an excellent keeper.

"What have you done with her?" Harry's question brings him from his thoughts and he focuses on the Gryffindor before him.

"That's none of yer business!" He continues as the dark-haired boy's wand began to glow with a blue light. His dueling skills were a bit of a legend around the school, as were his talents in DADA. (Especially now that they had a competent teacher.) "We've snogged, that's it. I respect her wishes."

The wands are hesitantly lowered as female voices float towards their group. The sun was almost set and they didn't need a scolding for fighting from Hermione and Tallie to ruin their evening. Harry and Draco step into Seamus' personal space for the briefest second.

"Hurt her"

"And we'll make it double." Draco finishes. Seamus glares but nods and the three separate as the two girls come into view. Tallie smiles at Harry and Draco before walking to Seamus, who watches timidly. The rest are silent, waiting for her next move.

"Justin's an idiot." Tallie says flippantly, as if discussing the weather. Hermione smiles happily for her friend, knowing she had been greatly confused these last few weeks. Seamus breaks out into a great smile and hugs Tallie. Tallie grins and pulls back, glaring defiantly at Harry and Draco before turning back to Seamus and kissing him full on the mouth.

Both protective boys manage to keep their protests to a strangled shriek and a slight tantrum later that night after dinner. Just a little one.

* * *

"Talianna, a word please?" Tallie freezes halfway out of the DADA classroom. Seamus and Harry, on either side of her, pause as well and turn to her for what to do. She shrugs, her lips a thin line, and beckons them to their next class— Herbology with the Slytherins. Draco would worry if all three of them were late. He was going slightly crazy as end-of-the-year exams drew days away.

As soon as their cloaks are out of sight, Tallie turns to her teacher, her face carefully controlled. She knew what this lecture would be about.

Remus smiles at his cub, oblivious to her coolness, and pats the desk beside him, where he's hopped up upon. She drops her bag back onto her desk and sits in the desk before him. His smile falters slightly but he forces it back into beamingness. "Talianna, is everything okay?"

"Yes, Professor." She responds dryly.

"We're alone, Talianna. You don't have to be so formal." When she doesn't respond, he plows forward. "You've missed the last three Hogsmeade trips with your dad and I. Has your schoolwork been overwhelming you?"

Tallie lets her chin fall on her hand, feigning boredness. "No, it's been fine. I'm passing all of my classes."

"Then why have you not met us for lunch?" She shrugs in reply and the wolf in Remus growls at the petulance of his pack member while the father in him flinches from the coldness practically shooting off of her. "Talianna, your dad is worried about you as well. He says your replies to his letters are barely more than two sentences."

"He sends me a letter every day. Not much has happened between each letter. And anything big that does happen, you'll tell him anyway. I don't see the point in reiterating it." Tallie looks at the small pocket watch on a chain around her neck, decorated with two small stones of aquamarine and emerald – a Christmas present from Harry and Draco—, and stands up, hoisting her bag onto her shoulder once more. "Look, Professor, I'm already five minutes late for my next class." She heads to the door. Remus stands up, his legs wavering between running after her and collapsing back against the desk in defeat.

"Talianna! What more do you want me to do? I'm trying! We're both trying!" He calls after her. His only reply is his classroom door shutting with a sigh. The werewolf hangs his head in his hands, scrunching his eyes up as the swelling regret washes over him. It was after encounters like that that clarity struck him for a few precious moments and he knew the mistakes he had made.

An owl tapped against his window, a blue-eyed barn owl with a short temper. His lover's owl. Remus stood up straight, smiling happily as he took the letter from the bird and sat down to eagerly read what Sirius had written.

* * *

"Freedom! Oh, sweet Freedom, I bow to you!" Draco praises as he, Tallie, and Harry race out of the castle after their last exam, History of Magic. Tallie does one better and falls to the ground, arms raised to the sky in reverence. Harry snorts and trips Draco as he goes to run towards the lake. The boy tumbles and pulls Harry with him.

"Pack pile!" Tallie yips and pounces on top of both boys, eliciting puffs of air from suddenly squeezed lungs and grunts. She giggles and rolls onto her back luxuriously. Both boys groan and protest, yet not wanting to toss the girl off of them.

"Hey darlin'!" Tallie is swung up from the ground anyway, pulled into a chaste kiss by her boyfriend of four months. She smiles and tugs his sandy hair to get some air. His smile falters slightly as he catches the looks on his year-mates' faces. Tallie twists around, keeping his arms around her waist, to glare back at the boys.

"What?"

"Do you really have to do that in public?" Harry asks quietly. Tallie snorts and gives him a look as if to say, "Really?"

"What he means is that we don't want rumors going around about you, that's all." Draco amends hastily. Tallie smiles fondly at the two.

"Seamus, give us a sec." Seamus nods and presses a kiss to her forehead before wandering back to Dean, who was waiting for him by a tree next to the lake. Once he's settled comfortably on the ground, Tallie turns to the two teens with an unreadable expression.

"Harry, Draco, I understand why you're both acting like this. Really, I do. I feel the same way every time I hear about you two with someone new. I'm scared that they'll hurt you or use you or you'll do something you regret or perhaps weren't ready for. But I trust you both and I let you guys make your own decisions. I—"

"You sound like our mums." Draco blurts without thinking. Tallie pauses with a raised brow and Harry slams his elbow into the blonde boy's side while muttering something that sounded awfully like 'Foot in mouth.'

"That's because they explained this to me. They understood what becoming a teenager represents to most and prepared me for it, since my parents couldn't do it properly." Draco smiles apologetically and Tallie punches him playfully in the shoulder. "I like Seamus; he's a wonderful first boyfriend. I don't love him, though. I'm not going to give him everything either, so you can stop pulling your wands out every time he takes my hand. I'm not so naïve, guys." The boys exchange looks before sighing in defeat.

"We just can't see anyone being good enough for you." Harry admits. Tallie throws her hands up in exasperation.

"Then who is?" When both fail to reply aside from some very uncomfortable fidgeting, she keeps going with a no-nonsense tone. "I have needs too, you guys. I want to kiss and holds hands and be held beside the fire and have someone to escort me to Hogsmeade and surprise me with chocolate or a butterbeer. I want to feel_ something_." She blurts accidentally, caught up in the moment. Draco and Harry step forward instantly, surrounding her with their comforting presence without touching.

"You're right. We've been too overprotective. We just…it's like you said. If you got hurt or got in over your head, we wouldn't be able to take it." Draco mutters, unsure of how to properly explain his feelings. They went further than that, way further, but he and Harry had both agreed that she was more important as their friend than as their crush.

"If someone hurt you, I'm not sure we'd be able to control ourselves." Harry added. Tallie leans forward and wraps one arm around each of their necks to pull them closer.

"Just remember, it's the same for me. Now, would you like to join me by the lakeside or do you not think you can handle it?" She challenges. The boys smile and start racing towards the tree, with Tallie racing happily after them. The boys dog-pile and dissolve into a wrestling match while Tallie, joined by Hermione, watch with laughter.

"Harry!" Everyone pauses as Ron runs over, a newspaper clenched in his hand. His freckly-face is pale and slightly green. Harry jumps to his feet, hand outstretched to steady his panicked friend.

"Ron, what is it?" Tallie questions, already reaching for the paper. Ron beats her to it, unfolding it and pointing to the enlarged photograph on the front.

PETER PETTIGREW ESCAPES AZKABAN FORTRESS!

Tallie snarls and immediately moves to Harry's side, her eyes flashing with a silver sheen. Harry grasps her forearm in reassurance as Draco reads the article with fury.

"We'll keep you safe." Tallie whispers as Seamus and Dean come up behind them, making a shield around the dark-haired wizard. Draco reaches out to grip Harry's hand where it grasped Tallie. His blue-grey eyes burned with the same promise as the newspaper was crushed in his grip.

_Pack…pack…protect…pack…_


	4. Chapter 4

**Title**: There is Always a Choice

**Disclaimer**: J.K. Rowling, the lucky witch, owns Harry Potter and all its affiliates. If I owned it, I would have taken over the world by now.

**Rating**: I'm going to rate it M, just in case. Not sure how descriptive I'll get in this thing yet.

**Pairings**: That would spoil the story… but I'll throw ya'll a bone. Pairings HP/DM, RW/HG, RL/SB, JP/LE, LM/NM, and BZ/LL.

**Warnings**: Mild violence (so far), foul language, AU plot, Angst, Romance, Tragedy, and anything else that will bring your 'feels' to bursting.

**Summary**: There is always a choice, that's what they say, right? It has never been truer and the world of Harry Potter (with a few twists) is about to discover this truth both the hard and the easy way.

**Author's Notes**: Wow, this year is pretty intense. Basically, when the little ~~ occur, assume that the events in-between are what has happened in the books, with the added characters of this story. Enjoy!

_There is Always a Choice_

_Chapter IV: One moment at a time_

_"And that is how change happens. One gesture. One person. One moment at a time." – Libba Bray _

"Lupin, you're next." Tallie sent a fierce command to her fingers, where they were clamped around the edge of the wooden desk with white knuckles. Watching both Draco and Harry undergo an unforgivable was…oh merlin it was unforgivable to just do _nothing_! According to her wolf-self anyway. Her human-witch-self firmly told the wolf-self to shut the hell up as she totters to her feet and walks to the front of the classroom. Professor Moody stared her down, his magical eye roving around her head as if sensing something.

When his wand levels at her forehead, Tallie instantly backs up a step, her skin shivering and rippling with the urge to crouch into a spring that would tear out the jugular of the threat. She forces herself to breathe, again, and reminds herself— again! — that this was a lesson. If he tried to hurt her, Draco and Harry would protect her.

The thought calmed her hackles and she closed her eyes as he spoke the incantation. "_Imperio_"

The voice…it was hard to resist. It called, crooned, told her to let go of the tethers of her mind and let it take over.

Tallie felt her human-self blaze into awareness when they realized that Moody's voice was nothing more than a whisper. The crooning voice was the wolf.

A fog drifted in and around her mind, making it hard for her thoughts to connect to each other. Harry had fought it off, though.

Harry. Draco. They wouldn't let anything happen, right?

Yes, yes that was true. If she couldn't be sure of nothing else, their protection was undeniable.

_Outside. Walls around. Four paws. Stone to dirt. Air in pelt. One shiver. Pack. Silver moon. Endless hunt. Endless night. Pack. Pack. Pack!_

"Very good, Lupin. You almost threw it. Sit down." Professor Moody's voice broke the endless murmur in her mind, and she manages to stumble back to her seat. Uncaring of the rest of the lesson, Tallie folded her arms on the desk and tucked her head on them, breathing through her nose very slowly while she attempted to let those thoughts fall away.

"Tallie?" Seamus whispers worriedly, touching her elbow gently. They had been shaky lately, but still together. She pulls away from his questioning fingers without responding. Professor Moody continues his lecture seemingly unaware.

At last, the bell rang, signaling lunch. As Professor Moody stamps out of the room, with most of the class following, Draco and Harry leap from their seats to Tallie's desk. Seamus kept his eyes on his girl, starting to freak out. She had begun to tremble a few minutes ago.

"What's happening?" Seamus demands while Harry reaches out a tentative hand to his best friend's shoulder.

"Seamus, please inform the Headmaster that we've gone for a walk. Discreetly, mind you." Draco orders. Seamus stands up in indignation.

"She's my girlfriend, Malfoy. I want to know what's happening." Seamus snaps. Tallie groans and lifts her head slowly, as if it weighed a hundred pounds. Draco knelt beside her, looking up into her ashen face.

"Tallie?"

"It woke her up. She won't go away." Tallie groans, fisting her hands over her eyes in frustration. Harry grips her under her arm, signaling with his eyes for Draco to do the same with her other arm.

"Seamus, we'll explain later. Just please, no one can know about this. Except Dumbledore. You have to tell him." Harry pleads while heading to the door with Tallie between him and Draco. The Irishman nods reluctantly, running forward to step in front of Tallie and brushing her long, silver hair from her still-bronzed skin from the summer.

"Be safe" He says before turning on his heel and rushing off towards the Great Hall. Draco huffs and shakes his head.

"Harry, you're stronger than I am. Carry her and I'll clear the path so we won't be seen." Draco says, quickly hefting the silver-haired witch into the Gryffindor's arms. His gold and scarlet tie twisted against Tallie's arm, but for once he didn't protest about his precious tie getting displaced. His chin-length black hair tickled Tallie's forehead, causing her to scrunch up her nose and squirm with the tremors.

Draco whips around with a snap of his robes, a trick picked up by his godfather, Severus, and hurries down the corridor. Harry follows quickly.

They manage to make it out onto the grounds unseen. Draco furtively twists off his tie and hangs it on the branch of a tree on the Forbidden Forest's edge. A sign for the headmaster, should he need to know exactly where they entered.

"Set her down." He told a panting Harry. He may be lithe, but Tallie was no fairy! Draco reaches out and clasps his hands under her to help Harry lower her to the damp grass. Tallie groans again and her chocolate eyes flutter open. The irises are outlined with silver, a shimmer of the same colour expanding outward in a small wave from her temples. It whispered her wolf-speak, calling to her pack members.

"Let the wolf out, Tallie. We're right here to bring you back." Harry whispers into her ear as he places a hand on her shoulder, Draco mirroring him on her left. They trembled at the same moment, the change flowing swiftly through their bodies as they had practiced over the last two summers. Until Tallie trusted herself enough to let the wolf completely in, she kept her caged. Three to four times a year, that cage had to be opened, no ifs, ands, or buts.

The black and grey furred wolf shook out her pelt, stretching her front limbs into the ground while flexing her shoulders out. The silver dragon still marked her back, growing with her. It rippled in the afternoon sun, looking as if it were stretching too.

The lion, with tufts of pale gold hair sticking out here and there about his head in a ring, opens his maw in a creaking yawn, his tail already flicking at the thought of the adventures to come.

The black as night Jaguar moved next, rising to his paws with feline grace and swiping his too pink tongue about his muzzle with a contented purr.

The pack members greeted each other with licks, nuzzling, purrs, and yips before the wolf took point. Together, the three loped off into the forest to run until the world slipped away into the silence of the night.

* * *

"Up next, the internationally-known band, the Weird Sisters!" Professor Flitwick squeaked into the microphone amidst the final strains of the waltz. The crowds of students rise up in a mad cheer as the band members troop onto the stage, bedecked in rather strange outfits. Bits of feathers and coils of metal sprang out in the unlikeliest of places.

"Tallie! This way!" Seamus, who polished up very handsomely, let go of her waist in favor of her hand and pulled her through the insane crowd. Tallie was dressed in a black, gothic corset-style (with the corset slanted towards her left shoulder) gown*. The corset, a shiny silk, cut down to mid-dress in sharp endings while the skirt, a layered tulle, fell to her ankles with the straps circled over her collarbone and biceps. A silk ribbon crisscrossed gracefully up her left forearm, holstering her ivory wand. Her sneakers made no noise as they crossed the dance floor. The skirt hid that, thankfully. Otherwise, Pansy would have beheaded her with her bare hands.

As she walked towards the doors, she caught sight of Harry, whose cover date was Parvati since a champion wasn't allowed a same-sex partner (_completely ridiculous_!), dancing slowly with Jacob Kurtstaff, a fifth year Hufflepuff he had been seeing the last few weeks. Just behind him, stood Draco with his date, Pansy. They were too…_occupied_ at the moment to catch Tallie's fond smile in their direction. Both of her boys looked snazzy.

"What is it, Seamus?" Tallie questions, wiping the back of her right hand across her damp forehead. The frigid corridor was a blissful relief from the sweltering ballroom. Seamus' face was rather red as well; their dancing had gotten pretty close earlier.

"I can't do this anymore, Tallie."

_What_?

"What?" She echoes her thoughts, her eyes widening with comprehension as her face paled despite the heat. Seamus fiddled the cuffs of his dress robes and dropped his gaze to the flagstones.

"I-I can't do this anymore. I just…I mean…" He trailed off as she steps back a tiny bit, no longer wanting such an intimate closeness with the boy.

"Spit it out, Seamus." She snaps. The Irishman's chest expands with a big breath and he looks up to say what has been bothering him since the DADA incident.

"I'm tired of competin' with Draco and Harry." Tallie blinks, a blank look taking over her face.

"At the risk of sounding repetitive, _what_?" Seamus shrugs.

"I have to constantly battle for yer attention when they're around. Christ! If they're even mentioned, it's like I don't even exist anymore. Ye're so fixated on them and I'm tired of bein' third on yer mind."

"Are you being serious right now? If you are upset about my lack of attention, then say so! And I'm not sure if you noticed, but my best friend is a bloody Champion! He could die! Of course I'm focused on him all the time!"

"That doesn't explain Draco." Seamus insists heatedly, his face starting to purple. Tallie's voice drops to a whisper.

"We explained that to you. They're my pack, Seamus. The wolf is half of me and I can't help it if she latches onto any mention of my pack members. You said you understood."

"I don't then. I can't handle it. I feel like I'm sharin' you with them and I got the shortest bit." Her cheeks get high spots of pink.

"What more do you want?" She raises her voice. Seamus waves his arm towards her.

"More than what ye're giving! I don't feel like I have a girlfriend anymore. We're stuck on repeat, nothing new is happening!"

"We're fourteen! There's nothing new to do!" Seamus snorts and her eyes narrow dangerously. "I'm not that kind of girl, Seamus. Sex is not on my to-do list." At Seamus derisive eye-roll, Tallie sneers. "We've tried other stuff, you pig! I'm not going to f*ck you just because that's the next step."

"Then do it because you love me!" Seamus growls, slapping his palm against the pillar next to him. Tallie's mouth genuinely drops open.

"Seamus, I think I may love you, but there's no way on this god-given earth I'm having sex with you just because I love you. We're ."

Seamus shook his head in disgust and stuck his hands in his robe pockets. "Then there's nothin' more to discuss. I'm not bein' with a girl who's there part-time."

"You're a bloody prick!" Tallie shouts after him, her hands balled into fists at her side. Her, now ex, boyfriend walks around the corner without replying. Tallie's chest restricts slightly and she turns and rushes towards the stairs that lead to the dungeons. She didn't want to go back to the common room, but she didn't want to be seen crying into her hands either.

It was sometime later, maybe an hour, when a warm cloak was draped around her shoulders. Her higher senses were engulfed in a musky scent and the rough cloth and fur trim of the cloak identified the intruder as a Durmstrang boy. A specific one.

"Nik" She mumbles, lifting her head rapidly from her hands after attempting to scrub her cheeks dry. Nikolai's rough face came into view as he crouched beside her with a grim expression. The dour boy rarely showed positive emotions, but he could be compassionate. He was certainly a great debater, if how they came to know each other was any indication. (Let's just say a disagreement over the best type of kelp root for a Frost Draught turned rather nasty…)

"Vat has happened, zmiya?" After learning the history of her house, he had gifted her with the nickname snake. According to Viktor, it was something he very rarely did. She let it slide only because of that. _Only_ that, of course.

"Nothing" Tallie responds sullenly. He tsks and levels his brown eyes at her, slightly blocked by his stringy black hair. His face, though chiseled, was too roughly cut for her tastes. That and he was sixteen, and therefore no romantic interest for her.

"You are sad. Vo has made you so?" His English, thankfully, was a bit better than Viktor's. _Poor Hermione_. The thought made her lips twist up slightly and Nikolai claps his hands together once.

"You smiled! That vas easier than I thought. You are also cold. Let me valk you to your rooms." He offers curtly, standing and holding out his arm. She knew he would be deeply offended if she refused, so she stood and let her arm rest through his. Her head hurt from the crying.

She shivers again as they descend deeper into the castle bowels. Above, the Weird Sisters are playing their usual closing songs and the rumble of feet could be heard as students began to leave the Ball. She looks towards her escort, aware that her hair had fallen around her face, out of the up-do it had taken Millicent an hour to do.

"Did you enjoy the dance, Nik?" She asks, to break the silence. He smiles, shocking her, and shakes his head.

"I had hoped to dance vith someone, but they disappeared before I could ask."

"I'm sorry."

"That's okay. Vould you like to dance, zmiya?" He stops and looks at her. His eyes were reminiscent of kindness. Her lips twitched into a smile again and she nods once. He sweeps his dark eyes around the corridor before resting on an empty classroom. He pulls her inside, leaving the door ajar. His wand is subtly waved and a soft tune begins; a very simple fox-trot beat.

"Thank you" Tallie murmurs a few minutes into the dance, feeling slightly dwarfed. Nikolai smiles down at her, moving the slightest bit closer.

"Sadness does not suit you. Vith a face like yours, only a smile vill fit." She smiles more broadly and Nik's eyes widen in surprise, his flawless steps faltering for a brief second.

"Nik?" She asks, when in the next second he slows to a step, still peering down into her face. His eyes blink slowly, as if coming out of his stupor.

"I…may I?" He says quietly, quickly. Unsure of exactly what he was saying, she nods anyway. His fingers of his right hand move to slide against the ribbon around her arm and his head sweeps down to press his lips against hers.

Before she can blink, her body responds. Her arms wrap around his neck, her body arching forward into his, suddenly thirsty for contact. For touch. His own arms trap her to him all the more firmly, his hands spread out along her back with such heat that it feels as if her skin is on fire. A smoky feeling envelopes her mind, her eyes fluttering shut before the lids open halfway to watch the dazed look crawl onto Nikolai's face. His mouth is hot, wet, and heady.

The creak of the door as it is hastily shut goes unnoticed.

* * *

The whispers assaulted her the next morning the minute she stepped into the Great Hall for breakfast. Still fiddling with the hood of her robes, she didn't notice when the whisperers pointed at her and heads began to turn to watch.

"Good morning, Pansy." She mumbles tiredly, covering a wide yawn with her palm as she spoons bangers onto her plate with the other. The dark-haired girl, bubblier this year, smirks at her with a raised brow.

"Certainly for you as well." The silver-haired girl stops chewing her delicious sausage at her friend's tone.

"I'm sorry?" Pansy, and Millicent beside her, leans closer across the table conspiratorially.

"How was it?" They whisper, ending in giggles. Her brows now knitted together with deep confusion, Tallie opens her mouth to either hex them to silence or demand what was going on when the whispers suddenly increase in sound throughout the hall and a finger taps softly against her shoulder.

She twists her torso around to see Nikolai, pale and furious, standing there.

"Can ve talk?" She nods and gets to her feet, looking strangely at the other tables as they gossiped even harder.

"What is going on?" She demands as soon as they are outside the doors of the Entrance Hall, the snow crunching under their feet. "And Happy Christmas." She adds cheerfully. Nikolai stops to smile hopelessly at her before returning to solemnity.

"Apparently, someone saw us last night and exaggerated vat had happened." Comprehension dawned on the witch's face.

"By exaggerate…?"

His face was deepening in indignant anger. "The kiss did not stop but vent further. No one else knows you broke up with Seamus, do they?" At her shaking head, Nikolai mutters something in Bulgarian and runs his hand through his hair. "This is my fault. I should not have kissed you."

"We talked about this last night, Nik. I have no regrets. You really helped me." Tallie said bluntly, her lips pressed together in a 'don't you dare contradict what I just said' line. His own twitched slightly at his stubborn friend and he mussed his hair again.

"Still, I vould not vish this stain on your reputation."

"I could give less of a rat's ass about what others think. Nik, you said it yourself last night. The kiss itself was pleasant. Rather hot, actually." At this she winked, and the barest of blushes hinted at the poor Bulgarian wizard's cheeks. "But the meaning behind it was comfort and friendship. It was a more intimate way of being there for each other. Remember this?" She finishes chidingly. The boy smiles ruefully.

"Venever I speak vith you, I feel as if you are the adult and I am the child." He mutters. She laughs and shoves him slightly in the gut, making his breath whoosh out.

"Only when you act like it." She retorts playfully. He chuckles and tugs her morning ponytail.

"I stand by my statement, zmiya. Only a smile vill fit your face." She truly smiles; her eyes gaining back some of the sparkle from before.

"The same applies to you, you know." She hints. He shakes his head.

"I have a reputation to keep. If I smile, vat vill that do?" She only shakes her head with a giggle.

"I'm hungry, so I'm heading back inside for some food. Are you coming, big-stoic-wizard-man?" She teases. He pokes her side casually as he slips through the doors, her indignant squeak echoing behind him.

* * *

It took approximately a minute after stepping into Gryffindor Tower for the present-giving for her boys to drag her right back out, both hopping-mad.

"You will explain." Harry growls, his emerald eyes flashing intensely in the morning light from the windows. His tie is actually slightly undone and circles are under his eyes.

"Right. Now." Draco spits, his face cherry red. His perfect hair is mussed. Tallie shrinks back at the seriousness of this confrontation. _It's Christmas, people! Is there no mercy?_

"Explain what?" Their eyes narrow dangerously, causing Tallie to lift her shoulders against the misplaced anger.

"What exactly happened between you and that…that…" Harry struggles with an insulting-enough term.

"Cradle-robbing, flobberworm-brained, twat!" Draco finishes for him. Tallie's face opens in shock.

"You believe those rumors being spread about me?" She whispers. The boys' glares intensify. Without warning, her face flushes a deep red and her eyes narrow to slits. "I am _sick_ and _tired_ of dealing with you hotheaded, heads-in-your-arses, bigoted, unjustified _boys_! I cannot believe that you would take such rumors about me to heart! You're supposed to be my pack, not my condemners! What the hell do I have to do to stay in everyone's good graces for more than a bloody f*cking minute around here? No, I don't want to hear a d*mn thing that either of you have to say!" She adds shrilly when Harry opens his mouth to interrupt. "I'm done! I am done with you both! You can go to hell for all I f*cking care!" She screams, pouring all of her frustration into her tirade, getting so worked up that the two stunned boys back up a few steps.

"Tallie—" Draco begins tentatively but she's already swung around, her robes flapping about her legs.

"Oh and here! Good f*cking riddance!" She shouts as she throws two preciously wrapped presents towards them. With their Seeker skills, they manage to grab the delicate boxes before they can crash onto the stone floors. But by the time they look up, she's gone from the corridor.

"What just happened?" Harry whispers. Draco shakes his head, utterly bewildered. Weren't they the ones supposed to be mad?

"What just happened is that you both were being horrible friends." Hermione's voice sounds from behind. Both boys jump to see the portrait open, most of Gryffindor house visible beyond and probably having witnessed the shouting.

"What?" Draco asks heatedly. Hermione glares at him until his mouth closes. She steps out into the hall and lowers her voice.

"Seamus broke it off with Tallie last night. A sixth year Slytherin girl, Jessica Johansson, was the one who saw them kissing. I hunted her down for the exact information and that's all that they did. Besides, both Nikolai and Tallie are not the kind of people to do that." She adds crossly at her idiot friends. Both boys hang their heads in shame. Hermione continues ruthlessly. She wanted to get her point across so clearly that it might as well be written across their foreheads. "I also talked with some Hufflepuffs who left the dance early and apparently Tallie had been on the dungeon stairs for a while before that, crying her heart out. The break-up hit her hard and now with this horrible rumor going around, I can guarantee that she's not feeling very well about herself. You better go apologize in the best way that you know how or I'll want to know why not. Me, Ginny, Ron, and Pansy. Fred and George added their two-cents in as well. So _ .it."_

* * *

It took a little over an hour to gather all the supplies that they needed. It took about twenty minutes for Draco to convince Harry to knock on the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room, which the Marauder's Map showed was where Tallie was ensconced.

"Why am I knocking when you know the password?" Harry whispers, his arms juggling his half of the supplies. Draco leans forward and whispers the password.

"To warn her so she can pretend she hasn't been crying." He breathes back as they clamber through.

Tallie is sitting on the plush carpet before the emerald fire, her arms wrapped around her knees that are bent to her chest— her innate stillness overtaking her. Her hair was pulled into a messy bun, a sure sign of her sadness. Blaise sat on the couch behind her, attempting to wheedle out the reason for her state.

"Go away" Harry withholds his irritated sigh. Sometimes, Tallie's extra senses were too good. Draco gives him a warning glare and they walk forward to stand on either side of her after setting the supplies behind her. Blaise wisely wanders off.

Wordlessly, Harry grabs the small, foil-wrapped sweet from the pile and places it on her slippered foot, knowing she would not move her hand. Draco sets a chilled butterbeer between her slippers before reaching out with his pale arms and wrapping it around her shoulders while Harry encases her waist with his arms.

Tallie tenses but stays still, trying to figure out what the gits were doing. After a moment, they both move. Harry takes his right arm while Draco takes his left— the arms wrapped around her front, and grab a hand each. It was a simple hold, fingers lightly placed over the spaces between hers, and the comforting warmth of her pack made her shoulders shake slightly.

"What are—?"

"Shh" The boys say to their best friend. The other third of their lives. Slowly, feeling their hearts speeding up with each second that goes by, they lean forward and press their lips to her cheeks. Harry plucks up his daring and kisses the corner of her eye with Draco following a second later. A sob is choked in Tallie's throat.

"We may not be your boyfriend, but we will give you everything that you want because we love you." Draco whispers. Harry pulls his lips away from the drying eye and leans his forehead against the side of her neck.

"With that said, Miss Tallie, would you like to accompany Mister Draco and I to Hogsmeade next weekend? We would be most honoured." He whispers. He feels Tallie nodding and his hand linked with hers nudged Draco in success.

"We are sorry. For what we said." Draco adds. Tallie turns her hands over and properly links with theirs.

"Don't do it ever again. I don't…I can'— I wouldn't be able to handle it, alright?" Tallie whispers. Her boys nod and kiss her cheeks again before huddling closer (if that was possible) and enjoying the pack bond flowing between them as the fire changed from emerald green to a soft golden colour.

* * *

"This is such delicious pheasant, Lily. What seasoning did you use?" Molly asks eagerly, her kind eyes bright with the holiday cheer. The entire Weasley clan, excepting a very busy Charlie, was present along with the Lupins and Malfoys for the annual Potter Easter Brunch. It was slightly tense, as the Malfoy-Weasley tension was yet to be completely resolved, but both patriarchs were on their utmost best behavior on threat of a _very, very long_ dry season from their wives.

The children were seated at one end of the greatly expanded wooden table— the kitchen had also been extended— and the adults at the other. Except for James and Lily, who sat protectively on either side of their son; the last few months had been too hard, what with the events at the World Cup and Harry becoming a champion.

"Oh just a bit of lemon and radish shavings. I'll give you the recipe before you go." Lily remarks happily. Molly nods and leans towards one of the twins to reprimand them for some mannerly err. Lily turns to her blossoming goddaughter a few seats down. Tallie was not as tense as usual while being around her fathers and Lily, as well as the Malfoys and James, was taking that as a hopeful sign.

"Tell me, Tallie, have you spoken with Seamus any since the two of you broke it off?" Lily asks. Tallie takes a sip of her favorite tea before setting down her fork.

"Not really." Remus and Sirius look up in surprise.

"When did you and Seamus break up?" Sirius questions. James takes Lily's hand as she sighs in defeat when Tallie's shoulders tense.

"The Yule Ball" She says curtly. Remus sits up and regards his cub.

"Why?"

"Neither of us were receiving what we wanted from the relationship."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Sirius clarifies for him. Tallie shrugs, her eyes flashing as she regards her parents.

"It's not that important." Lucius frowns slightly, feeling the approaching fight as Sirius bristles.

"It is if it involves you!" The animagus growls. Tallie stands up abruptly and leans over to kiss Lily on the cheek.

"Your meal was delicious, Aunt Lily. Thank you. I'll be on the Quidditch Pitch." Draco stood up before she could move, hastily wiping his mouth.

"I'll go with you. We have to practise that Starfish and Stick maneuver for next year."

"Me too" Harry echoes as he hurriedly kisses his parents' cheeks and follows them out the door. Sirius stands up with a slam of his palm on the table, his eyes flashing just like his daughters. Remus gently stays him by grabbing his elbow.

"Sirius, leave it be."

"Leave it be? She can't act that way towards us!" Sirius snaps. Remus looks at him with sad eyes.

"Leave it." He says firmly. Sirius stares at him before slowly sitting down. The rest of the table had been quiet, watching the proceedings with a combination of pity and anger. Though Molly and Arthur weren't clued in to what exactly had happened, they had gotten the gist of it from Ron and Harry. The Weasley siblings were scowling at the ignorant Lupins, except for Bill who had no idea what was going on but wisely saying nothing.

Meanwhile, James was scowling fiercely at his best friends. Lucius and Narcissa quietly strike up a blasé conversation with the others while Lily calms her husband. None were worried about the three blowing off steam outside. The wards about the Potter Cottage were nearly impenetrable.

Draco was practicing a Sloth-Grip Roll in the air while the other two pack members watch to point out any mistakes.

"Have you talked to him about it, yet?" Tallie questions softly to her dark-haired friend. Harry flushes and shakes his head.

"I keep trying, but then I get distracted."

"How?"

"I keep remembering the look in his eyes when he pulled me onto the platform. I just…" His voice trails off and Tallie caresses his forearm in comfort. Draco had been chosen for the thing that Harry would miss most, which greatly stung Tallie in the heart, and when Harry had found that out he had been forced to admit his changed emotions towards the blonde. To Tallie, anyway. Telling Draco that he was possibly falling in love with him was right below fighting another Dragon, this time without magic.

Tallie had been spending the last few weeks counseling her poor friend through his feelings, trying to help him come to a decision. Completely unaware of his further confusion over the fact that while he had feelings for Draco; his feelings for her had not gone away but had, in fact, increased. He and Draco were counseling each other at the same time with their feelings towards their friend.

It was just very confusing all around.

A gentle rain began to fall and Draco slips back onto his broom before the handle becomes too slippery. He flies to the other two and grins lopsidedly as he sees those emerald eyes focused entirely on him. The mixed signals he was receiving were confusing Draco, but he knew Tallie would help the dark-haired wizard through it.

"Ow!" Tallie squeals, clapping a hand to her forehead. The boys cover their heads in the next instant as the rain turns to frigid ice chips.

"What the hell?" Draco yells over the thundering storm. Harry shrugs and they descend to the ground and start to trek back across the pitch towards the cottage that lay beyond a small meadow.

Tallie screams out, the broom falling to the ground as she looks up. Harry and Draco drop theirs as well, wands pointed at the gliding figures descending towards them.

There were four dementors, clad in black and already inhaling to catch the flickers of happiness bleeding off of the three teens.

"I don't know the charm!" Draco yells to Harry, who shakes his head in agreement. The house was too far away, the effect of the dementors would hit them before they could get more than a meter. Tallie backs into their chests, her wand raised straight into the sky.

"Stay behind me!" She orders shakily before closing her eyes and focusing on the memory of running through the Forbidden Forest with Draco and Harry the weekend before they left for the Easter Holidays. For once, she was thankful for Remus' habit of setting her extra summer homework. "_Expecto Patronum!_"

A wispy shield spread above the three, weak. Tallie reaches with her free hand and two soaking wet ones claps desperately onto hers. The searing heat of the bond stretches her emotions and she calls on the memory of them holding her before the fire, their lips pressed to the corner of her eyes.

"_EXPECTO PATRONUM_!" She screams again. The shield above them turns nearly solid. She wasn't powerful enough for a corporal patronus; had no need to be really, but this would have to be enough.

"_Expecto Patronum_!" was shouted several times behind them. A weasel, stag, two wolves, and a rather large owl rush onto the scene. The silvery creatures clash with the soul-sucking dementors violently, driving them off beyond the wards. James shouts out the password that would activate the ancient blood wards around the cottage to keep the dark creatures away.

Tallie's shield faded slowly away and she leans heavily onto her boys as they shiver. All three are too pale and clammy to the touch. The adults rush forward to gently herd the three back inside where they are sat on the plush couch of the main living room.

Narcissa, Lily, and Molly kneel before the shivering youths and wrap them in woolen blankets, tsking worriedly over their pale cheeks.

"What are dementors doing away from Azkaban?" Sirius growls furiously while holding onto Remus', who was trembling with his own suppressed anger. Lucius, for once, agreed with the degree of anger in the mutt's tone. It made it even worse that he and Narcissa could do nothing to protect their Dragon from those monsters as they did not know how to produce the Patronus Charm.

"Dumbledore's been worried about this for years." Arthur murmurs while holding Ginny close. The other children were scattered before the hearth, feeling safer in numbers. Bill comes forward with a thick bar of Honeyduke's milk chocolate.

"I hear this helps." He offers. The three bite hesitantly into the rich treat, relaxing as warmth reinvades their bodies.

"What would cause this?" Molly questions.

"The very thing that the wizarding world has been fearing for thirteen years." James says solemnly. Lily curves her hand over Harry's neck as everyone's gaze flick to the boy's lightning bolt scar.

* * *

"Talianna, stay behind after class." The girl looks up in surprise as she stoppers her potion vial. Draco, beside her, elbows her questioningly.

"I don't know." She mouths in reply and slips the vial into the container on his desk before going back to her station to pack up. Harry watches, slightly jealous, as Draco assists her, occasionally brushing her hand. His feelings were growing every day. He was sorely thankful to Hermione and Ron for keeping him so busy training for the maze.

The class files out as a bell tolls. When it is empty but for one, Severus gets to his feet and stalks around to pick up the container to put in his cupboard for later grading. Tallie lingers awkwardly by her desk, waiting for an explanation.

"It was you." Why does this child make him act compassionate? It puts him into the most awkward situations.

"Pardon?" Tallie tilts her head slightly, tucking a few stray strands back into the potion-fumed-mussed braid.

"There is a spell that the judges performed upon each champion, without their knowing, to discover who they would miss the most for the second task. When it was cast upon Potter, it was a very close call between you and Draco." Severus pauses as the silver-haired girl's brown eyes widened in surprise. Why was he doing this again?

"How…?"

"In the end, it was you who Potter would miss most. The judges decided to choose Draco, however, because we felt that it might be detrimental to your mental well-being to be put through such a thing." Now the girl's mouth drops open. Really? Why was he being so…so…_nice_? It wasn't fun.

"T-th-thank you, sir." Tallie mumbles as she totters out of the door. Severus sighs and lets his face fall forward slightly as he pinches the bridge of his nose.

"I hate myself sometimes." He mutters before standing up and grabbing his red quill. Some Hufflepuffs were about to get very harsh reviews on their essays.

* * *

The band's fanfare quickly died as those closest began to scream. Tallie fought against both Neville and Ron's restraining hands. Her entire body convulsed to go to her pack member. _She knew_! She knew something was going on! She felt it, through the bond— the terror, the pain, the fury, and…the acceptance that he might die tonight. Not acceptable. .

Draco was similarly detained by Blaise and Dean. His teeth were bared with his incisors prematurely morphing.

"Draco, Tallie, if you transform now, it won't help Harry." Hermione whispers frantically, tears pouring down her face at what all had transpired in the last three minutes. Tallie and Draco had gone rigid as soon as Harry had entered that dratted maze. Tallie had begun shivering about thirty minutes later, her eyes flashing silver.

Both animagi pause and fix their gazes on the brown-haired witch. She gulps and continues. "If you guys stay human, then you can go to him." Both practically freeze and their restrainers slowly let go. Immediately, Tallie grasps Draco's hand and they dart through the crowd. It was so thick; it was another five minutes before Tallie reached where Amos Diggory was sobbing over the body of Cedric.

She knelt beside the boy, ignoring Professor McGonagall's protests, and lays a hand on Amos' shoulder in comfort, allowing her sorrow at the older boy's death to wash through her. Tears are already dripping from her lashes. Draco watches with alertness, noting his parents in the approaching crowd. James and Lily were currently shouting at Dumbledore, who was looking shaken.

"Where's Harry?" Tallie rises to her feet as soon as the Malfoys and Lupins join them. Amos is moved along with Cedric's body by the team of Aurors and Mediwitches while the students are pressed back into the stands for control. The ministry officials and teachers gathered at the base to discuss what to do next.

"Moody took him to the castle." Arthur Weasley replies. Dumbledore's head whips around from the Potter's in alarm and Tallie and Draco instantly snarl.

"I knew it! I told you! I told you he smelled wrong!" Tallie screams at Remus before she whips her body around, already shifting in midair. A midnight black, almost fully grown wolf drops back to the ground, already running. A mostly matured pale lion loping at her side. Albus and Minerva, with Severus and the other involved adults, quickly follow.

_Faster…faster…danger…Harry danger…Draco faster!_

_I'm trying! _Tallie stumbles over a step in the Entrance Hall as Draco answers. Both feel the bond morphing, engulfing them with the emotions of all three. Harry was becoming frightened again, but neither could discern what he was thinking.

_Discuss later…_

_Of course._ Draco replies before loosing a roar as he feels pain lancing down the bond from Harry's end. The adults are right on their trail, surprisingly, and offer a sense of recklessness as both animagi students crash through the fake-professor's door.

The snarling is terrible. Loud and unforgiving, it echoes about the cluttered space as Draco closes his jaws around the wand hand of the fake wizard. Tallie goes one step further, digging her teeth into the wrinkly skin of the man's neck, stopping just short of ripping out his jugular. She wouldn't kill him…yet. Answers were needed.

Lily and James were next through the door, wands held out. When they saw that the threat was effectively taken down, they sweep Harry into their arms. His sobs crack both of their hearts, his broken "He's back…He's back…oh gods, he's back…" making them shiver with dread. Severus and Albus are the next through, with the others crowding the door.

"Miss Lupin, Mister Malfoy, release him." Albus commands gently, his eyes flashing murderously at the imposter. Draco lets go after slamming the wand far away. Tallie snarls and tightens her jaws.

"Talianna, let go." Remus orders. She ignores him blatantly, claws digging into the shoulders as the captive flails wildly at the wolf holding him down.

"Tallie" Harry gasps, turning slightly to face his friend. Tallie's brown eyes swivel upwards to catch the tear-stained face of the boy she loves and slowly unlocks her jaws, swiping at the blood trickling from her white canines. She prances off of the man and leans against Harry's legs in comfort. He weaves his fingers through her pelt as Draco wraps his arm around Harry's waist.

"You're never leaving us out again. Never. I don't care what it is. I don't care where it takes us. We are with you." Draco growls against Harry's shoulder. Tallie yips in agreement and Harry nods wearily, tears still streaming down his face.

"Together" Harry whispers, closing his eyes and letting the warmth of pack surround him. Protect him from the coming nightmares.


	5. Chapter 5

**Title**: There is Always a Choice

**Disclaimer**: J.K. Rowling, the lucky witch, owns Harry Potter and all its affiliates. If I owned it, I would have taken over the world by now.

**Rating**: I'm going to rate it M, just in case. Not sure how descriptive I'll get in this thing yet.

**Pairings**: That would spoil the story… but I'll throw ya'll a bone. Pairings are HP/DM, RW/HG, RL/SB, JP/LE, LM/NM, and BZ/LL.

**Warnings**: Mild violence (so far), foul language, AU plot, Angst, Romance, Tragedy, and anything else that will bring your 'feels' to bursting.

**Summary**: There is always a choice, that's what they say, right? It has never been truer and the world of Harry Potter (with a few twists) is about to discover this truth both the hard and the easy way.

**Author's Notes**: The game changer. There is no dementor attack; Grimmuald Place is not HQ, though the Order is most definitely back in business. This is going to launch straight into the end of the year, with the little important details being added in as the chapter goes on. Enjoy!

_There is Always a Choice_

_Chapter V: Karma…had just bitch-slapped me…across the face_

_"I was in the biggest breakdown of my life when I stopped crying long enough to let the words of my epiphany really sink in. That whore, karma, had finally made her way around and had just bitch-slapped me right across the face. The realization only made me cry harder." – Jennifer Salaiz_

"Harry! Draco! Where are you?" The pants of her air that escape her were too loud in this quiet room. All around her were mirrors— that's all that seemed to fill this room. Panel after panel after panel. Nothing more.

They had been separated. She could feel the constant fear through her pack bond, so much stronger now that they had been working on it over this year.

Her body goes rigid when a mirror ripples and then Bane is behind her. The strong centaur looks the same as he did those months she spent in the forest. His mouth moved, but no sound came out. She knew, though, what the magical being was saying. Her destiny, her choices.

Right now, she needed to choose the correct door out of this place. Except, everything was a mirror.

Another ripple, to her right. Remus and Sirius trying to hug her goodbye as they left on the months-long mission for Dumbledore with James and Lucius. She had turned her back to them, and now she got to see the devastated expressions that crossed their faces. A jet of red light hit the mirror and she turned and ran to the other side of the door.

More rippling. Across several mirrors the D.A. appears, strong and with so much faith. At the fore, the group that had come here, to the Department of Mysteries, this night. Neville, Luna, Ginny, so naïve in what was to come. Ron and Hermione, Harry's steadfast adventure partners. Draco and Harry, brothers and should-be-lovers until the very end. And her, Talianna, before them. Except she should be with them! Damn those death eaters! Damn Nott Sr.! Damn Voldemort for his stupid fake-vision.

Harry would blame himself. As if reading her mind, the mirror ripples again and she sees the History of Magic O.W.L., Harry slumping out of his seat in shock as Voldemort appears to be torturing his father. All to retrieve a crystal ball. The prophecy, if what Tallie could remember from the centaurs was correct.

"Let me out!" She screams as she feels Harry's panic sear into pain. The mirrors ripple as one now, showing her entire life. Thrusting her mistakes before her eyes before she spots a plain wooden door in the corner of her left eye. Her hand shoots out and connects with a knob. With no hesitation, she throws it open and launches herself through it.

Right into a standstill. Harry, Draco, and Neville were on the dais, by the veil they had passed earlier. Twelve death eaters ranged around them, in rather bad shape. Bellatrix leveled her wand at Neville, the dreaded Unforgivable hitting him. His screams make her flinch, but then Nott Sr. turns his wand on Draco, attempting to make Harry give up the prophecy.

"Hey, stupid!" Tallie shouts, casting a firework charm into the air to draw all of their attention. What was she going to do with it when they outnumbered them twelve to four? No f*cking clue. But it gave Harry and Draco the chance to pull Neville behind them.

"And who have we here?" Bella pouts as she walks slowly towards the silver-haired witch. Tallie had moved closer before casting the fireworks spell, so it did not take long before she was a duel's length from her. "Aww, it's my sweet cousin's little baby." Tallie sneers at her cooing tone. She snarls, her mad eyes roving over the young Slytherin's body before smiling maliciously. "Come to see your precious friends die?"

"Only you" She barks. Bellatrix waves her hand dismissively at the others behind her.

"Kill them and get the prophecy. I'll handle this pup."

"Over your dead body!" Tallie's head snaps up with the others as a flood of Order members rush through the door. Tonks, Kingsley, Sirius, Remus, James, Lucius, and Mad-Eye Moody (the real one) join the battle with curses flying. Draco and Harry take up arms, standing side by side to protect Neville, who is still recovering from the Cruciatus.

Remus sprints to her side, his usually neat hair shaggy and more brown than grey for once. His wand flashes forward, blocking a nasty looking hex while Tallie regains her composure. Bellatrix snarls and begins to duel in earnest.

"_Obliquo_!"* Tallie shrieks as ducking around her father's outstretched arm and striking Bellatrix directly in her wand arm. Bellatrix screams in delighted agony as all the bones in her arm were twisted forty-five degrees.

"Oho! The pup knows how to play properly!" She giggles and shoots several curses at once. Remus shoves Tallie aside as they dodge them, his wand twirling in his hand as he counters them. Bellatrix switches hands, too busy to heal her arm and duels just as well with her left hand. Tallie snarls and casts as many offensive spells as were in her repertoire. Some gathered from the darker books of the Black library (stolen on secret visits to Grimmuald Place). She could feel the surprised looks from Remus between the spells they were casting, but puts her focus in taking the b*tch down. She was the biggest threat, the strongest death eater. Through her bond, she could feel the intense satisfaction as Draco and Harry took down Nott Sr. and moved on to help their fathers in their duels. They were still outnumbered, but most of these death eaters were fresh from a stay of over a decade in Azkaban.

"Is that the best you got?" Tallie laughs as she dodges another curse. Bellatrix's eyes bulge slightly and she smiles.

"I will enjoy tearing you apart." She snarls. At that moment, a startled yell comes from behind her. Remus goes rigid and Tallie throws a surprise _bombarda_ to throw Bellatrix back while searching for the distraction herself.

Sirius, a grim looking gash from his shoulder to his waist, whips his wand in a circle and continues dueling as thick bandages wrap around the wound. Remus whines deep in his throat and Tallie feels fear strike her heart. She can't handle Bellatrix on her own. If her father left…

He's gone before she could even finish that thought, throwing a powerful stunner at Bellatrix that barely grazed her arm, and racing to his soul mate's side. Bellatrix, slightly befuddled from the stunner, totters as she raises her wand. Tallie takes her only advantage and jumps at the older witch, latching her powerful jaws around the witch's already twisted arm. The dark-haired witch screams out as the wickedly sharp teeth tear through her tough skin, down to the bone. She bites down on the wolf's ear, causing the great head to jerk and a whine of pain to tear from Tallie's throat. Working with Draco and Harry all these years, and really achieving it last year during the Moody episode, gave her control over her mentality while in wolf form. She no longer lost herself so completely to the wolf-speak.

"Mangy dog! How dare you touch me!" Bellatrix was screaming and then a wand tip is digging into her side, between her ribs. "_Transvorto_!"**

A lull in the battle, a slight subsiding of the fighting occurs as the young witch's shrieks ring out. Forced transformation was never pleasant and she fought in the chokehold Bellatrix kept on her as he body wrung itself through the changes. Her limbs, half-wolf and half-human, jerk out haphazardly as her head whips from side to side. More of her silver hair escapes from the braid she had put it in before their innocent O.W.L. exam, sticking to her neck as sweat roils from her pores.

"No!" Sirius yells out, abandoning his duel to Remus as he sees his baby girl in his insane cousin's arms. Tallie hung limply in her arms, her throat clutched tightly by those murderous hands.

"No need to worry, sweet Sirius! We're just having a little chat. Family to family!" Bellatrix cackles wildly as she begins dragging the girl back. Draco and Harry are also attempting to escape their duels, but it just isn't possible. They're outnumbered!

"TALLIE!" Her boys scream out helplessly as they see Bellatrix disappear through a door with her. They return to their duels with scary intensity.

* * *

"Looks like my cousin has been hiding a jewel." Bellatrix giggles as she throws the young witch to the floor of the empty antechamber. Her good fortune. Tallie groans and clutches her wand tightly under her arm, not ready to use it just yet.

"Screw you" Tallie gasps as Bellatrix's slippered foot presses down onto her weakened chest. A wand is pressed against her temple tauntingly.

"You would make a most lovely gift to my lord. Oh yes…yes it would be perfect. So many opportunities." The madwoman was muttering with almost sexual pleasure. Tallie shivers in revulsion and attempts to shy away.

"I will never serve Voldemort." Tallie spits, remembering Bellatrix's anger at Harry speaking his name earlier. A resounding slap to her face and the loss of the foot on her chest is her reward.

"Filthy mudblood! _Crucio_!" Her mind fractures under the curse, going towards her wolf form to escape the bone-breaking, skin-splicing, nerve-frying pain of the pain curse. She was aware of the screams; they made her want to flinch. _Oh gods, make it stop. Make is stop! _

"Poor baby. Does the little cub hurt? Does she? _Crucio_!"

"No! Stop! STOP!" Tallie screams, writhing on the cold, stone floor. Bellatrix dances wildly about her, shrieking with delight and twisting her wand this way and that, focusing the spell on different parts of the young witch's body.

"You will serve my lord. I've heard the rumors, from your little schoolmate himself! You are claimed by no one, little cub. Not by Lupins, Potters, or Malfoys!" Bellatrix pauses and her torso convulses with pleasure as the witch on the floor before her flops back to the ground gasping for breath as she ends the curse. "They've done this to you, little cub. Remember that." Tallie feels blindly around for her wand as she props herself up onto her elbows to spit at Bellatrix. Instead, the madwoman slams Tallie back onto the ground, straddling her thighs as she presses her twisted wand into the girl's left hipbone.

"Get off! GET OFF OF ME!" Tallie screams, feeling a burning like pure acid delving into her body, spreading out from the wand tip.

"I claim Talianna Samantha in the Black Family name, as is my right as Head of the Black Family. By blood and by magic. I own you, Talianna Black." Bellatrix sounds almost sane as she invokes the ancient rites. Terrible sounds escape the silver-haired witch's mouth as she's held down by an invisible force. Through her cracked lids, she spots bolts of black magic twisting around her pulse points, a thick strand driving straight into her heart, towards her soul. Her back arches off the ground, nearly in half, at the pain. Instead of her mind going blank, it fills with the presence of Bellatrix, claiming her.

As soon as it had started, it was over. She slumps back to the ground, fighting her mind back to consciousness as Bellatrix cackles above her.

"You shall serve Lord Voldemort, little cub. His little baby spy." Tallie can feel the pull of the blood magic, can feel it twisting into her mind to make her comply.

"I can resist you. You do not own me." Tallie gasps, her mind wrapping around the glowing images of Harry and Draco laughing as they chased each other in their last Quidditch match before that Umbridge woman had ruined it all. The compulsion fades to the background. Bellatrix narrows her eyes before splitting into a wide grin, her blackened teeth showing.

"Very well. I'll just get you a partner. My nephew Draco should do just fine. He's half Black. And weaker. He won't be able to resist the blood magic, little cub." Tallie snarls, unable to change due to the earlier forced transformation spell draining her animagus form.

"He is strong enough!"

"He's weak! A Malfoy is always weak and combined with my traitorous sister's cowardly heart he will be broken at the Dark Lord's feet!" Bellatrix screams, aiming another crucio at the silver-haired witch.

When her throat is coated with a thin layer of blood from the tearing of her screams, Bellatrix removes the spell lovingly. "Do as I say and you have my oath not to invoke Draco's blood." Tallie shakes her head in denial before she holds out her wrist for the oath. A blood oath was different from an Unbreakable Vow, stronger. Bellatrix tears her jagged nails down the young girl's palm, ripping open the tanned skin, before slicing open her own palm.

"I swear not to invoke any blood magic upon Draco Lucius Malfoy." Bellatrix giggles impatiently as she shakes her slave's hand. Tallie lets her hand fall back to the ground, her eyes pressed tightly together as the tears leak out. "Aww, little cub is sad? Poor baby. Don't worry; you'll be training with Aunty Bella this summer! A perfect gift for my lord." Bellatrix gets to her knees, kneeling beside the shaking witch and breathing into her ear. "Welcome to the Darkness, Talianna Black. You will never escape." She shrieks with laughter and levels her wand at the young witch's body as she jumps back to her feet.

Her robes are slashed vertically and repeatedly, the cuts appearing on the unblemished skin. Tallie writhes, screaming out of her raw throat as Bellatrix writes on her skin over and over.

And then it's over. The blackness is there and everything else is gone.

* * *

Harry couldn't breathe. His throat was closing, black spots appearing in his vision as he struggled to keep casting against Dolohov. His father beside him steps up his game as he notices his son's swaying. Behind them, Lucius and Draco are experiencing the same thing.

_Draco!_

_Harry?_

_I can't feel Tallie!_ Both boys gasp as they exchange thoughts— they had been trying all year ever since the Moody escapade. It hadn't worked, until now. Now that their bond with Tallie was fizzing in and out of existence. They couldn't feel her emotions any longer, the intense burning disappearing like a cool relief. But with that relief brought panic. _Why is it fading_?

_I don't know!_ Draco cut off his thought as the screams that had been ricocheting around the chamber were cut off. Harry, closer than the others, swept his wand outward, releasing a line of fire and effectively winning his duel as Bellatrix prances out of the room.

Her wand flicked outward and a spray of crimson blood rained upon the grey stone walls and floor. A roaring begins in Harry's eyes and, unconscious of what he was truly doing, takes off after the demented witch as she runs for the Atrium.

"Harry!" James and Draco shout as more Order members show up and the tide finally turns. Within minutes, the battle is done and Remus, supporting a weak Sirius, hobbles quickly to the plain door. James, Lucius, and Draco are just behind them, Draco being restrained by his father. If it was bad, Lucius did not want his son seeing it.

"Talianna?" Remus calls as he pushes open the door, letting Sirius lean his weight against the doorframe. "TALLIE!" He yells out, his voice cracking midway. Draco feels his heart plummet straight through his belly and onto the floor.

"Let me through!" Severus had arrived upon the scene and pushes his way through the assembled crowd of Order members at the doorway. He steps into the room, noticing a faint Remus Lupin kneeling beside the torn body of his daughter. Sirius was staring at them, his grey eyes glazed over.

"Let me see her." His voice is surprisingly gentle as he lowers his body to the ground beside them. When neither responds, he lifts his head to survey the group.

"Potter, Albus is in the Atrium with your son. The Dark Lord is there also." A painful gasp whooshes out of the hazel-eyed wizard and he takes off without a backward glance, his wand out. That snake bastard would not steal his son as well!

"Kingsley, Lucius, Draco go collect the others that have been injured. Poppy is waiting."

"I'm not leaving her." Draco snarls, his teeth lengthening at the supposed threat. Severus levels his dark eyes at the sixteen year old.

"You will go help before more deaths are caused." His sharp words cause the boy to recoil into his father's side, his face dropping in misery. Lucius regards his old friend with surprise. The man seemed to be…worried over his 'pack member'. Lucius was as well. He was ready to be sick at the sight of the bloodied girl, but he would not focus too much upon it. He had a job to do.

"Take the Lupins with you. Tonks, stay. You're the one most in control right now." Severus finishes doling out his commands and everyone hustles to obey; a slight state of shock hovering over them from the so recently won battle. Sirius manages to pull Remus away from his cub, for once trusting in the greasy-haired Slytherin.

Remus pauses at the doorway and turns back as Severus pulls out his wand. "Bellatrix was with her for over fifteen minutes." He says dully. Severus looks into those brown eyes with grim reality.

"She has sunk entire bloodlines into madness in a shorter time slot. I will do my best." He promises. Remus nods his head and shuffles after his mate.

"Tonks, I need you to conjure some water and bandages. Let's stop any serious bleeding before I search out any curses Bellatrix might have left behind." Severus orders. Tonks kneels on the other side and does as he says, letting her eyes wander over the ravaged skin for serious wounds. There was none, just the same pattern over and over.

"Is that—?"

"Bellatrix likes to mark her victims." Severus whispers, fingers hovering just above a crude 'B' on the girl's collarbone. Her robes were in tatters, barely covering the young witch's modesty. His eyes search just as Tonks was.

Tonks looks up just in time to see her comrade suck in a horrified breath, his already sallow face paling further. She drops the bandage she had been using to sop up some of the blood on Tallie's face— a face she had seen bright with laughter so recently, at Christmas after Arthur's attack— and looks to where Severus' eyes were locked.

"What is that?" She wonders, reaching over and brushing the remaining scraps of robe away from the left hipbone.

"This child has been condemned." Severus closes his eyes before regaining his composure and pointing his wand at Nymphadora Tonks. "I need your oath that you will never breathe a word of what I'm about to say to anyone unless it has become common knowledge."

Tonks stares at the black wand before her before looking down at the convulsing child on the ground. The Black Family crest was tattooed onto her hip, she recognized it from hidden jewelry that her mother had. "What is going to happen to her?"

"Your oath, Nymphadora." She swallows nervously. Severus had been the easiest person to convince to call her Tonks and by using her first name, she knew his patience was thinning. She holds out her hand and winces in shame as it flashes with purple light as he shakes it.

"In Talianna's first year, she was disowned from the Lupin family. Her 'parents'," He snarls the word with disdain, "seemed to have forgotten to reinstate her, leaving her vulnerable for any family of the same bloodlines to claim her. Only the Head can do this, as Bellatrix has done. She now has legal custody over the girl along with total access and a hefty amount of control of her magic. She could strip her into a squib or force so much magic through her that Tallie's heart would give out. She, in the most savage manner, is now Talianna's master." Tonks covers her mouth with her hand and shakes her head in denial.

"But…that would mean…"

"Tallie will be forced to serve the Dark Lord or worse. There is nothing we can do. Black and Lupin blood are her only two lines. The Weasleys have a very small claim, but it has disappeared under the force of the mark." Severus sighs and touches a few fingers to the sweaty child's forehead. "For now, let us heal her body so that her mind may heal. If Bellatrix invoked blood magic, then she did not use any other curse. This is the worst she could have done." Tonks, still speechless, nods and begins to wash away the blood of the condemned witch.

* * *

"I'm telling you, Severus, there is something else. Her scent isn't right, the bond between us isn't right."

"Our bond is muted as well, Professor." Draco speaks up in a tired voice. He was strung out between two beds, holding onto each as if they were a lifeline. For his comfort, they had been pushed rather close together. Lily and James Potter, both looking as if sleep had never been introduced into their lives, sat on Harry's other side, alternating between stroking his messy black locks and massaging his weary limbs and shoulders. He was magically exhausted from his duel with Voldemort, having helped Dumbledore as best he could and then getting possessed when it had seemed over. On the other bedside, lay a morose black dog and an exhausted werewolf. A werewolf that was getting on Severus' last nerves. Their argument was drawing the Weasleys, at the other end of the Wing with the other injured students, from their stupor.

"I am telling you that if there is anything hidden, it will manifest when Talianna awakens." Severus growls, eliciting the same response from the mutt. He wanted to cast a few curses on those fools that would land him in Azkaban for well over two lifetimes, which would be ironic since he was not the one who had damned an innocent child. He kept his lips shut, however, and turned back to the silver-haired witch. She was bruised badly all over her body, remnants of the Cruciatus Curse. With the help of Poppy, he had managed to erase any evidence of the letters carved so crudely into the child's skin. It had only been two days since the battle in the Department of Mysteries, but with all these…these Gryffindors around him, Severus was past ready to _implode_.

"Severus" Oh thank the gods! Lucius and Narcissa have returned from their reconnaissance with old friends within the death eater ranks.

"Did you find the potion?" Severus questions. In response, Narcissa dips her delicate hands into the pockets of her elegant crimson robes and withdraws a large vial of Delatar Serum***. The green liquid, a handy concoction made by the reclusive Spanish wizards, would seek out every curse or harmful magic upon the drinker and reveal it in the spell's aura. However, it had to be taken consciously.

"Why won't she wake up?" Ah, the young Potter had finally deigned to speak. Everyone turns to see him struggling to sit up. James and Draco help to adjust the pillows behind him.

"Her body and mind are healing, Mister Potter. Fifteen minutes alone with Bellatrix Lestrange hardly ever leaves survivors." Severus snaps crossly. Harry flinches and glares at him. Draco chokes slightly and ducks his head against the sheets of the bed. Lucius sweeps over to him and rests his hand calmly on the disheveled blonde head. The most comforting public gesture Severus had ever seen him make.

"Will she awake?" Lily pleads for a positive answer with her eyes. Severus swallows with some difficulty and looks over at the witch in question. A small twitch of his lips reveals an almost-smile.

"She has" The black mutt stands to attention, his tail wagging eagerly as the silvered head moves slowly upon the pillow. Remus brushes the straggly strands from his cub's forehead with relief as dull brown eyes flutter open.

"Tallie? Can you hear me?" Remus whispers. Severus can feel Draco at his elbow, nearly quivering with emotion. Tallie nods weakly on her pillow, her eyes lowering to look at her hands lying upon her stomach. "Do you feel any pain?" The head shakes, the face closing up with weariness.

"Talianna, I need you to take this potion. It will reveal any magical influence upon you." Severus steps forward into the young witch's sight. Tallie's eyes widen with panic and she shakes her head furiously, her hands curling into claws.

_Ah, so she is aware of what Bellatrix did. This will make things less difficult._ Severus sighs mentally and gestures sharply with his free hand. "Everyone out. This requires privacy."

"What Tallie goes through, we will too." Remus protests as Sirius morphs back to his original form. They lay their hands upon her hand and she visibly flinches. Severus levels a no-nonsense glare at them both.

"I am trying to help her. Now, _get out_." Sirius stiffens but Remus reluctantly pulls the mutt away. Severus inclines his head to the Malfoys and Potters before flicking his wand; the curtains swish close around them, obscuring them both from view. He turns to study this quivering wretch upon the bed.

"I will respect your wish to stay silent, but you will answer any questions I have to the best of your abilities and honestly so, understood?" A nod and then he is offering the vial of potion to her. She takes it with a shaking hand and unstoppers the lid, tipping it into her mouth with only a second's hesitation. Nothing significant appears except for a subtle black glow. The girl's eyes widen in terror but Severus only hums and nods his head as if in satisfaction. He already knew what that meant, but it would not do for the child to go into panic mode.

"I can sense no leftover or hidden curses. However, you are still recovering from the torture that you underwent with Bellatrix. I am qualified as a counselor, or Mind Healer if you will, to victims of such ordeals. We will be speaking every day for an hour about this, until you are ready to speak in which case the sessions shall expand to two hours. Your studies shall not be slacked off, as well, and you will receive tutoring from myself and Professor McGonagall after classes and before dinner. Is that acceptable?" Her brown eyes spark, bringing some semblance of life back to them, and she nods. Severus turns to leave when there is a tug upon his cloak. He turns with a hiss but comes up short when he sees the girl sitting up, her eyes locked with his. Her hand, the one not bandaged, rises up to her mouth, palm facing to her chin, and lowers out towards him as if blowing him a kiss. His brows almost disappear into his fringe but then furrows once more as she holds her pinky finger up now before making a peace sign and touching the forefinger to her cheekbone and once more pointing a finger at him. When she finishes, she pulls the covers up around her and drops her head back onto the pillow.

With a sigh of confusion, Severus sweeps past the curtains and straight into the waiting families.

_See, this is why I'm not nice. It gives me headaches_. He complains as they begin to question him.

* * *

"Say something. Anything. Please?" Sirius found himself begging three days later to his obstinate baby girl. She only stares back uncomprehendingly. Sirius sits back with a groan and holds his hand over his shoulder. Harry tags it and they switch places. This had been going on every night after dinner since she had woken up.

"Professor Snape told us there was nothing wrong, no curse left behind. Why won't you speak? Is it because of pain?" A head shake. "Are you unable to talk?" Another head shake. "You hate us?" A glare and a smack upside the head. Harry tags in Draco and hobbles back to his chuckling mother.

"It's not that funny." Harry mumbles as they watch Draco begin his own interrogation. At that moment, Snape walks into the wing and gestures to Lily. The red-haired woman walks over to her old friend and looks at him questioningly. He seems to struggle with his words.

"Spit it out, Sev." She implores. He sighs.

"Do you know what these gestures mean?" He asks softly before repeating what Tallie had done three days ago. Lily's brow furrows before nodding. She repeats the first hand gesture.

"This means thank you. The second one means 'I see you'." As she speaks, she signs the words.

"So this is sign language?"

"American, yes. Why?"

"Curiosity. I would like to speak with Tallie alone please. Go get something to eat with your families." Lily stares at him, her eyes searing through him questing for answers as they used to when they were school children.

"Sev, there is something going on with her. I don't know if it is bad or not, but I know. Please, is there nothing more you can do?" Lily whispers desperately, her aging face growing fierce with maternal worry. Sev draws himself up to his full height and nods slowly. There was a final option.

"I know of one other thing. But it will require a few things."

"Anything. I will help." He bows his head slightly and sweeps into the midst of the failing tag-teams.

"I will need each and every one of you to vacate this Wing until tomorrow afternoon." He announces in his best teacher voice. Lily steps forward as several heated glares are shot his way.

"He's going to try something that might help. Would you hinder him?" She narrows her eyes at Sirius and Remus, memories of their most fatal mistake echoing through her mind. They pale and shake their heads. Tallie watches all of this silently, of course. Her eyes bore into Severus' cheek but he does not meet her eyes.

Draco and Harry each squeeze her hands and kiss the corners of her eyes before departing with their parents. Remus and Sirius hug her tightly before dragging themselves out. Before the door closes, he can hear Narcissa commanding them all to the showers. "Such filth! I won't have it."

Severus turns to Tallie when they are completely alone. The other students that had been injured in the battle had been released with full recoveries this morning and Poppy was on her lunch break.

"I will be out of the castle until tomorrow afternoon. No one will disturb you. Take this time to collect your thoughts." He left without further word.

* * *

It did not take too long to bargain for what he wanted, though it did elicit yet another headache. There better be a three story potions lab and a Potter/Lupin-free zone when he died, that's all he had to say about it.

His cloak, refreshed with several powerful cleaning charms as he had not been able to shower since he had left the castle, whips forbiddingly around his legs as he sweeps down the second floor corridor. It was 11:45; he was early. There were no guards at the doors of the Hospital Wing either, something that surprised him.

He steps inside silently, taking note of the opened windows and cool breeze making its way through the musty wing. Poppy was most likely on her lunch break again, so Severus did not bother to draw the curtains around Talianna's bed as he stood beside it. There was an untouched tray of food on the bedside table, both breakfast and lunch, and a half empty glass of lemonade. His lips pursed just at the thought of the sour beverage.

"I will not bother with the bumbling attempts most others use to get to the point, Miss Black." Tallie jolts upright at her new name, her eyes going as wide as saucers. "I shall not beat about the bush. I have known what was done to you since I examined you in the Ministry itself. I have not said anything about it to you because I believed it was not my place, but your continued silence and withdrawal has given me no choice but to address it." He pauses as he notices the young witch's trembling hands clenching in the crisp, white sheets. He steps forward one step and relaxes his shoulders to lessen his intimidating stance. Her eyes refocus upon his sallow face.

"I visited Bellatrix yesterday and have negotiated a compromise with her. This summer, though you will be training with her, she will not keep you for more than twelve hours at a time. The time that you do not spend training with her, you shall spend it in secret within my own home. Bellatrix believes it to be because I wish to make you my own puppet; you shall let her do so." Her mouth drops open slightly. "In reality, when you are in my home, you shall be resting and recovering your strength, learning the intricacies of being a spy on both sides of a war, refining your Slytherin qualities, and understanding exactly what is and will be asked of you. In short, Miss Black, I shall teach you how to not only stay alive in the ranks of the death eaters, but how to prosper without completely losing yourself. Furthermore, I shall tell no one of what is happening. It will be your secret to hold or to release." He finishes slightly out of breath. His nerves were completely shot; he had not shown compassion to a Black since Regulus a few days before the fool got himself killed.

Tallie's face is open with denial, her eyes revealing her desperate hope warring with her overwhelming realism. Severus mentally huffs and reaches out with his hand to lay it gently upon her shoulder. "Tallie, you are not alone."

Without warning, and greatly to his horror, wretched sobs are suddenly tearing from his little Slytherin's chest as she throws herself into Severus' chest, wrapping brittle arms about his abdomen. His arms rise up in awkward uncertainty before his natural teacher-Head of House instincts kick in and he lets them fall about the shaking shoulders. His lips purse as soothing shushes and nonsensical words trickle out to slip into the hysterical witch. His body rocks slowly back and forth of its own traitorous volition. So caught up in his comforting, that he fails to hear the slight creaking of the Hospital Wing doors as they are cracked open.

Standing on the other side is a very stunned, on-the-verge-of-a-heart-attack group of males. Harry and Draco watch with some parts relief and jealousy as their stoic Potion's Professor comforts their pack member. They link hands to try and push some of their own comfort down their bond towards her. James, Sirius, and Remus look comically like fish.

"I can't do this…I don't want to do this! Please…please how am I supposed to do this? I don't want to be a traitor… I can't do it…I don't want to die like this…known for this…I can't do this…" She was inconsolable with grief so Severus says nothing but continues to offer his presence. Her whispers are too faint to reach farther than Severus' body. The others behind the door eventually close it, at a loss of what to do about this particular piece of information. At least Tallie had been broken from her shell.

* * *

"Are you excited for this summer, Tallie? Dad says we're all staying at the house in Dover with everyone. He even hinted at special training!" Harry says overenthusiastically. Tallie, from her spot by the window in the compartment, nods with a soft smile. Her eyes linger over his face for several minutes before resuming their silent watch out of the window. Draco touches his fingers to the back of Harry's hand as the dark-haired boy slumps slightly. They were in a compartment with Ron, Hermione, and Blaise. The others understood that Tallie needed space.

"I'm so anxious for our O.W.L. results. I just know I failed my Arithmancy exam!" Hermione complains, inwardly smiling as she sees both Harry and Ron's faces twist at her familiar complaint. Her attempt to break the tension was partly working.

"Hermione, if you failed Arithmancy then we all failed everything else. You mistranslated one rune. One." Blaise snorts. He glances out of the window, watching the Scottish hills roll past, before letting his eyes flicker over to their silent companion. According to Draco and Harry, Professor Snape had managed to get through to her and she was speaking to everyone more often. But the musing trances were continuous ever since her release from the Hospital Wing a week ago.

"Fred and George are opening their shop next week; I've seen pictures of it and its ginormous!" Ron broke in, nudging Tallie softly in her elbow. She jumps slightly but smiles reassuringly at the redhead before he can apologize.

"They told me about this new invention, punching telescopes. They sound intriguing." Tallie offers, relaxing as the others brighten up at her input. Draco, nearest to her, links his fingers with hers and places them to his heart as he flutters his eyelids dramatically.

"Lovely, you wouldn't happen to have provided the inspiration for such a thing, now would you have?" He pouts. Tallie stares at his face for many a minute as well before blinking with a bright smile.

"Why, perish the thought. It was Harry."

"Harry! You betray me!" No one but the two boys notice as Tallie recoils from the sentence, burrowing her cheek into Draco's shoulder and inhaling his familiar scent. Raspberry hair jel and pancakes.

"Tallie?" Harry asks quietly, reaching out to brush his fingers down the visible side of her face. She flutters her eyes open and stares at them both before returning to her doze. They still had three hours till they arrived at King's Cross.

Everyone is quiet for a few seconds before mysterious crunching sounds throughout the compartment, combined with a strange crinkling sound.

"Ronald! _ . .eating_?!"

"Weasley! Sharing is caring!"

"Sharing is spreading the pox, Zabini!"

"Harry, he has chocolate."

"I'm aware Draco."

"_Chocolate_."

"Indeed."

"Weasley, share the chocolate or face my wrath!"

"My chocolate!" Ron cries in horror as he is taken to the floor by a chocolate-crazed pair of Slytherin males. Harry pulls Tallie's chuckling head into his lap and runs his fingers through her hair to soothe all three of them with contentment through the bond.

Several chocolate-warring-redhead-injuring-wounded-pride-chocolate-satisfied-slytherin-hours later, the train was but a few minutes from the station. Tallie had seated herself between Draco and Harry and held them in her arms as she breathed slowly. It was an exercise Severus had taught her, to help her feel grounded. Draco and Harry were over-the-stars happy to be her rocks, figuratively. They kept up a constant barrage of jokes and random facts that kept giggles and snorts pouring from the silver-haired witch until there was a tapping at the window. Blaise pulls back the window to help the bedraggled creature through. It was an Australian Large Forest bat with a tiny scroll clutched in its back feet talons.

"What is that?" Ron asks as he watches the small creature sit on the table. Tallie leans forward, holding her hand out for the small creature to sniff disdainfully at and allowing her to take the letter.

"A missive from Professor Snape." She murmurs distractedly while quickly reading the message. When she finishes, she pulls a spare pen (honestly, so much better than quills in inconvenient moments) and writes back a single word on the back. All Harry and Draco are able to gather from peeking over her shoulder are _13….Lake….begin…_ and then the parchment is rerolled and given back to the bat along with a Fudge Fly taken from her pocket.

As it flies out of the window, it fully hits the other students.

"Snape's familiar is a _bat_?"

"He thought it would be amusing." Tallie answers as everyone breaks out into breath-stealing, stomach-cramping, rolling-on-the-floor laughter.

And then the train was pulling into the station, where anxious parents and brothers and sisters and aunts and uncles and cousins and grandmothers and grandfathers were waiting for their young relatives to arrive back from the most tumultuous year at Hogwarts ever.

A group of ten such anxious parents were more towards the back part of platform 9 ¾ where the fireplaces were situated for those flooing to and from the station. They were speaking amongst themselves as they look for their young ones to putter off of the scarlet train.

"I've spoken with Severus about Talianna's recovery." Long-haired Lucius Malfoy informs two excited Lupins. They both turn their attention away from a blustering James Potter, who had been regaling them with a tale of the most recent Quidditch Match between Kenmare Kestrals and Puddlemere United.

"What did he say? He only sneers at us when we ask." Sirius inquires. Narcissa turns to Lily, who is trying to soothe her indignant husband.

"I've noticed how close our boys are getting. What are your opinions of it, Lily?" Lily smiles warmly at her grey-eyed friend. She was always so dignified; it was calming to be around her.

"I believe that what they share is something that will be a life changer. I'm sure Lucius told you about what he learned at the end of first year." Narcissa raises a single brow in agreement.

"I confess that I am worried about this bond. With Tallie so damaged, will the boys be able to handle it?" Lily blinks at her bluntness but cannot but agree.

"They are strong, and unafraid of obstacles. I know they will be just what Talianna needs." Lucius breaks in unapologetically as he finishes updated the Lupins. Now all parents turn to the topic.

"Ron has written to us about Harry's confusion over his feelings for them both. They are rather strong." Molly divulges affectionately. Arthur puts his arm around his wife's waist as she radiates the love she holds all around her.

"Draco has confessed such things as well. They are smart young men, they will figure it out as the soul mate bond becomes stronger the closer they get to being of-age." Narcissa responds. Sirius and Remus look at each other, familiar pained expressions crossing their faces. Lily, James, Narcissa, and Lucius watch unsympathetically at the sight and the soul mates accept their mistakes at last.

"We were hoping to work out our issues, for real this time, this summer." Sirius says, his grey eyes wandering towards the group of children heading towards them from the train, trunks floating along behind them.

"You think it wise, with her recovery?" Lily speaks up.

"Can we really wait any longer? We won't force it upon her, but we will make it clear that we are going to make it up to her." Remus nods as he finishes speaking. The parents turn away as one to greet their young ones, but all feel a flame of hope for the haunted looking witch with frightfully pale skin and silver-hair.

Tallie approaches Sirius and Remus, stepping to the side so they are forced to come to the outward edge of the group. From the corners of her chocolate-brown eyes she sees Ron and Ginny being smothered in their mother's wonderful hug while their father strokes their hair with adoration. Draco is being fussed over and her blonde-friend is practically preening under the attention. Harry, her sweet Harry, has one arm around his dad while kissing his mum's cheek and laughing as Hermione pokes his side when he overdoes it. Hermione is then off, out of Tallie's periphery, towards her parents. From past experience, the Granger's were most likely off in the darkest corner, fidgeting and slightly uncomfortable, but would perk right up when they saw their brilliant daughter and bombard her with questions of her year and her studies. And Hermione would lie about the dangers they had faced again this year, and be honest about her achievements, and smile with half-sincerity as they whisk her back to the naïve world of muggles.

Tallie, dressed in dark, slim denim jeans and a button-up white long-sleeved shirt, pauses just out of reach of her fathers, her face as blank as the stone floor.

"Talianna, how was the train ride?" Sirius questions as he leans forward for a hug. To his utter surprise, she accepts it; even placing a hand upon his shoulder before pulling away and— it's not possible for Sirius' eyes to bug out any further— initiating a hug with Remus. However, her expression stays the same as she pulls away to face the two men who had raised her.

"It was full of laughter." She replies at last. Both men smile and link hands, reaching out their other for their little girl. They were apparating to the Dover Manor. It was the safest way.

"Ready to go?" Remus questions as his fingers extend to his cub. She had grown taller, and filled out into a beautiful young woman. Still slightly awkward at being fifteen, but both could see just how stunning their daughter would become.

Tallie settles her trunk to the ground, pulling out her wand and letting a few fingers rest upon her trunk. Smoothly, it transitions into a hiker's backpack, most likely with an undetectable extension charm upon it, and she hoists it upon her lithely muscled shoulder (fit from Quidditch workouts, Keeping was hard work).

"I'm not coming." She states. Grey and brown eyes blink uncomprehendingly at her. She pulls on the other strap and keeps her wand in her hand. "I'm traveling for the summer. Backpacking, as the muggles call it."

"Wh—Excuse me?" Remus splutters. Did she really think they would let her? She wasn't even sixteen! And with Voldemort on the loose, she was in no way, over-his-furry-dead-body, going out on her own!

"I've read a few psychology books regarding the trauma I've gone through and I've decided that this is what will help me the most. Severus does not agree, but he knows me well enough to know that I will do it anyway. So rest assured when I say that I'm not going blindly. I'm studying with several contacts of his, and spending the rest of the time in between on a self-discovering journey I guess." She pauses, her chest slightly tightening. Yeah, she was going on a self-journey— to see how much of a psycho-killer-torturer she could be. "I can't recover when you are around. Any of you. I need to be alone." She closes her eyes and nods before opening them up and staring at her fathers without fear. They were struck speechless.

"I'll try to write, but quite frankly I don't want to. It's time I grow into who I am. Just me." She waits for a few seconds more, waiting for some kind of response. A refusal or an approval. They just stare at her wide-eyed. She shakes her head and grabs a handful of the available floo powder, whispering the address to the jade-coloured flames. The other families turn in shock as the only daughter of the Lupin family disappears into the flames with a fiery flash.

_* Obliqio translated means bend or twist._

_** Transvorto translated means transform. _

_*** Delatar translated from Spanish means reveal or betray._


	6. Chapter 6

**Title**: There is Always a Choice

**Disclaimer**: J.K. Rowling, the lucky witch, owns Harry Potter and all its affiliates. If I owned it, I would have taken over the world by now.

**Rating**: I'm going to rate it M, just in case. Not sure how descriptive I'll get in this thing yet.

**Pairings**: That would spoil the story… but I'll throw ya'll a bone. Pairings are HP/DM, RW/HG, RL/SB, JP/LE, LM/NM, and BZ/LL.

**Warnings**: Mild violence (so far), foul language, AU plot, Angst, Romance, Tragedy, and anything else that will bring your 'feels' to bursting.

**Summary**: There is always a choice, that's what they say, right? It has never been truer and the world of Harry Potter (with a few twists) is about to discover this truth both the hard and the easy way.

**Author's Notes**: This is the summer between fifth and sixth. It is short, but I believe you all will enjoy it. Or mindlessly hate it since it's not Tallie-Draco-Harry getting together and defeating Bellatrix in a blaze of glory. Though I have pictured that and have been itching to write it— believe it or not, this story actually has a plot! And it will be written! And I'm rambling…enjoy the chapter! Reviews are welcome.

_There is Always a Choice_

_Chapter VI: Confined to the stinking limits of hell_

_"Evil is a point of view. We are immortal. And what we have before us are the rich feasts that conscience cannot appreciate and mortal men cannot know without regret. God kills, and so shall we; indiscriminately He takes the richest and the poorest, and so shall we; for no creatures under God are as we are, none so like Him as ourselves, dark angels not confined to the stinking limits of hell but wandering His earth and all its kingdoms." – Anne Rice_

"You have to feel it! Just as I told precious Potter, you have to want it!" Bellatrix screams in her ear, bringing her from her trance. Tallie blinks the blood from her eyes to stare at the terrified face of Peter Pettigrew. Could she want it? She had to, if she didn't want a personal lesson once more. A month of training. A month of learning the sickest curses, the most damnable potions known to man and other creatures. Writhing on the floor for hours under various tortures. Watching others do the same until they die or go insane or beg for death. Watching proud humans become reduced to nothing. Watching innocent animals and magical creatures slaughtered in boredom.

Doing half of the work that gets them to that state.

So that brought her back to the question. Did she want it? Did she want to cause him the pain that was the Cruciatus Curse? Could she handle the screams ripping from his throat, as they had ripped from hers? Could she handle seeing his body twitch and tense from the effects of the curse, whilst knowing them personally herself?

He had betrayed Harry and his family. Lovely Kiana Potter had died that night protecting her innocent nephew. Thus marking Harry as the only one to defeat that evil bastard.

Could she do it? Did she want it?

_Yes_.

Her lids shutter close once more as the answer reverberates throughout her entire body. This one unforgivable, she could do. It might sate Bellatrix's lust for her to accomplish all three immediately.

"_Crucio_" And so it began again.

* * *

"I cannot help you if you do not try to accept it." Her mentor's tone had finally risen with frustration. Tallie sat at the smooth ebony wood table, polished to mirror-perfection, and props her chin on her palms.

"I have done nothing but try, Severus. Is it so surprising that I am tired? Since day one I train with that b*tch before coming back here and eating your so-called healthy food and taking a short nap. Then I relearn everything she taught me in theory form courtesy of you along with those disgusting potions lessons. Then dinner or breakfast, depending on what side of the day the evil skank took me, and an hour of counseling/personal-thinking time and then bed." She slams her palms flat to the wooden surface, almost startling the hook-nosed professor from his leek soup.

"Severus, I am so tired." The young witch is a physical attribute to her words. Deep bags perpetuated her eyes with the look of the undead while her skin is sallow and lined from stress. Her long hair was short again, this time sweeping her shoulder and held back with a red headband. Her body was skinny from overexertion and exhaustion, despite Severus' best efforts to stuff it with 'healthy food'.

Severus sighs and sets down his spoon. His leek soup left much to be desired for, he had to admit. "You have but a few weeks left until the start of term. If you have not mastered what Bellatrix wishes you to, then I am not sure what will happen." He admits tersely. Tallie groans and thunks her forehead onto the table.

"I am not a killer." Were her softly spoken words.

"Until you become one." Severus responds almost regretfully.

* * *

Blaise Zabini was of a rather quiet sort. Yes, he could be dramatic. Yes, he could be rude and rather witty. Yes, he could be oblivious and blind.

But he was mostly quiet. He liked watching from the sidelines. He liked guessing peoples' reactions and delighted in finding himself right. He did not like getting involved. He could not step away and figure out the ending that way. He did his best to stay out things, especially this troublesome war. His mother had the good sense to get married to her ninth husband, a foreign sheik of a rather wealthy guild, and disappear into the sands of the Arabian Desert.

But the same was not going to be said of him. Not since the second he steps gracefully from the fireplace of his potion's professor's house in the last month of summer.

Blaise, dressed in his favorite blood red summer robes, dusts the imaginary dust from his shoulders and hangs his light cloak upon the rack waiting in the corner. He was unannounced, yes, but he hoped his professor would not be too angry. He needed some help with the summer homework and his professor had always been accommodating in the previous summers.

He exits into the dark hallway. Light came in thin slivers from the equally thin windows on the ceiling. The walls, made of a dark cherry wood no doubt, did not allow for happy sunlight to come in.

A muffled thump catches the dark-skinned-Italian's attention. Smoothing his black bangs from his eyes with a flick of his aristocratic chin, he creeps silently down towards the source. It comes again, from the second sitting room. A large one mostly occupied by bookshelves and varying types of armchairs. (Severus liked to change his position whilst reading. No one dared to comment.)

He pauses before it, letting his blue eyes strain through the miniscule crack of the ajar door.

"I won't do it."

"You must. It is nothing more than an animal."

"I'm half-animal. It is still murder!"

"I do not care if it murder! Bellatrix does not care! You must kill the stupid rodent before you yourself are killed."

"Avad-Ava—Av-Avada K-K-Ke…." A choking gasp, the sound of a throat constricted with tears. "_I can't_."

"Then you shall fail. I will Imperio you to make you do it, if I have to."

"No!"

"Then do it, Talianna! It is two words, a flash of colour, and the silencing of a heart. Nothing more!"

"_I won't do it! I won't_!" At the sound of his friend's scream, Blaise could not stay hidden any longer. Broken from his horrified eavesdropping, he slams open the door to come upon an even more horrific scene. Talianna in tattered, bloody robes with her wand hand shaking so badly that her wand is about to clatter to the ground. A writhing rabbit sits in a small cage before her, and Professor Snape to the side of it, arms crossed and teeth bared in a grimace.

"What the hell is going on here!?" He yells as he crosses to Tallie and gently grabs her wand. She stares at him wildly before collapsing into his arms. Severus sighs in frustration and pinches the bridge of his nose.

"Blaise Zabini, to what do we owe this visit?" Severus asks in resignation as he waves his wand at the rabbit, where it reverts to its original form of a teapot. He then takes off his outer robes, revealing a button up grey shirt and casual black slacks, before settling himself into the high-wing-backed chair. Tallie still clung to Blaise's chest, breathing slowly to calm herself down.

"That's not important. What are you doing to her? What the hell is wrong with you?" Blaise fumes, curling his arms around his fellow housemate. They may not be close like she was with Draco and Harry, but Slytherins stuck together dammit!

"Mister Zabini, I'm warning you now. Leave and forget everything you have just seen and heard. Your life will be safer for it." Severus warns gently. Blaise only lifts his aristocratic chin at him and narrow his blue eyes in warning.

"Tell me what's going on or else." '_Or else the second I go, I'm telling Draco and Harry everything_' was his unfinished statement. Severus' dark eyes narrowed before softening as they lock upon the blonde witch in his arms.

"Very well. Talianna, shall we tell him? Having an ally may ease your journey." Tallie nods blindly, not really registering anything in that moment.

"Settle down on the settee, Mister Zabini. This will take a bit of explaining."

* * *

Harry was having a nightmare.

Draco, on the bed beside his own in the room they were sharing in the manor, shuffles sleepily over to his best friend. Good, undisturbed peace was to be unheard of this summer; he had accepted that as soon as Tallie had disappeared in the floo at the station two months ago.

Not a single word had been heard from her since. Their pack bond was also weak from such a prolonged distance, although occasional flickers made it through from week to week.

He sits on the edge of Harry's bed, pushing his palm up the darker-haired boy's forehead to move the hair away. Harry's emerald green eyes opened with a snap and he bolted upright, heaving for breath as his eyes glistened with barely withheld tears.

"What happened, Harry?" Draco whispers, grasping the younger boy's upper arms in comfort. Harry shook his head.

"I don't know…exactly…" Draco waits patiently for him to continue. "I saw Tallie. She was in some type of throne room and Voldemort was there with all of the death eaters. Snape too." Draco relaxes his fingers when Harry shifts from his tightened grip.

"Sorry, what happened next?" Neither commented on his shaking voice.

"She knelt at his feet, and she was so pale. She was scared, it was written plainly across her face. But Voldemort had her hold out her arm."

_"Bare your arm, Talianna." The pale-haired witch complied with no hesitation, her creamy skin looking innocent amongst the current darkness. _

_"You've come to pledge your service to me, young Black?" The red-eyed monster hissed maliciously. Tallie bows her head lower, her brown eyes sweeping the marble floor beneath her as her body tensed. _

_"Yes, My lord." _

_"Why should I accept?"_

_"Because I am of use, my lord."_

_"One who is as young as you? Useful? I can see one way, but none other." The male death eaters in the room laughed and leered at the beautiful young woman, who ignored their insults and jabs to look up into the Dark Lord's face. "Hmm…you are strong. And certainly brave to come here as you have. Come closer; let me see your arm." Tallie stood and approached, her arm still out in offering. The pale wand tip settled against her forearm, power already gathering at its tip. The lifeless lips opened to begin the spell as Tallie's face contorted in agony and—_

"It stopped. I woke up. Draco…?" Harry chokes on his words, unable to continue. Draco is sitting beside him, head in his hands.

"You said half of them are dreams and half are real. Did it feel real?"

"No and yes. I can never tell until it comes true." Harry whispers at his friend's rough tone. Draco nods but before he can lift his head, both boys are hit by a strong feeling of contentment and love through their bond.

They could see, as if through her eye's, a beautiful mountainside of purples and greens, with the sun rising over the tops of it. It was quiet but for the rustling of waking critters and birds in the trees. Before her stood a buck and a doe, with a little baby fawn between them. They were staring at one another, her pale hand slightly outstretched as if in peace.

And then the buck lowers its antlers slightly before whuffing and trotting off, the doe at his side. The baby fawn stumbles and gives a slight cry before skipping off, its tiny body quivering in excitement.

And then she was gone from their minds, the connection faint once more.

"It was a dream, Harry." Draco nearly cries in relief. They slump against one another, curling up together to share their warmth and comfort, slipping off to sleep once more.

* * *

Tallie, alone in her room at Spinner's End, jolts upright in her bed a few days after her meeting with Voldemort. She's battered from Bellatrix's fury at her pupil being denied the dark mark. She's terrified about her mission from the Dark Lord. She's sixteen at this exact second.

And she suddenly understands so many of the mysteries in her life.


	7. Chapter 7

**Title**: There is Always a Choice

**Disclaimer**: J.K. Rowling, the lucky witch, owns Harry Potter and all its affiliates. If I owned it, I would have taken over the world by now.

**Rating**: I'm going to rate it M, just in case. Not sure how descriptive I'll get in this thing yet.

**Pairings**: That would spoil the story… but I'll throw ya'll a bone. Pairings are HP/DM, RW/HG, RL/SB, JP/LE, LM/NM, and BZ/LL.

**Warnings**: Mild violence (so far), offensive/foul language, AU plot, Angst, Romance, Tragedy, and anything else that will bring your 'feels' to bursting.

**Summary**: There is always a choice, that's what they say, right? It has never been truer and the world of Harry Potter (with a few twists) is about to discover this truth both the hard and the easy way.

**Author's Notes**: Alrighty, folks. Prepare yourselves. This is the chapter that started this whole shebang. The first true image I had of the story began here. The rest was developed over weeks of thought and planning and pure evilness (and some-parts fluffiness). I hope you enjoy, cringe, cry, laugh, shout, threaten your poor phone/computer for delivering these words to you, and all around love what you read here. Any questions? You know where the review button is! Or the PM button…message…thingy… er…yeah… Enjoy!

p.s. Some of the original plot lines remain. Slughorn is potion's teacher, Severus is Defense, Dumbledore introduces Harry to Horcruxes, which is then revealed to Ron, Hermione, and Draco. Harry's obsession with Draco stems from an…entirely different reason this time. If you catch my drift. *nudge, nudge*

p.p.s. The song you see later on in the chapter, in Italian, is by the Goo Goo Dolls, "I'm still here".

p.p.p.s. **This chapter has been split into several parts since, as a whole, it added up to 42 pages and 28,040 words.**

_There is Always a Choice_

_Chapter VII: A little bit of a bad [girl] Part 1_

_"I learned the bad guys are not always bad, the good guys are not always good, and to quote Captain Barbossa, the parameters are like rules, mostly guidelines. And that it takes a little bit of bad boy to fight the evil in the world.  
-Terri Mitchell"_

"You're absolutely sure that's what he said?"

"Yes! You have the letter in your hands. Professor Snape promised that Tallie would be here to take the train."

"I don't see her!"

"The train leaves in two minutes, Harry. She's probably already on." Draco scolds his friend with a weary frown. Both boys were taller, Draco being 6''1' and Harry four inches shorter. Their intense training over the summer, from dueling to surviving in the wilderness to strategizing battles and whatnot, had expanded both their young masculine bodies and their minds. Yet they remained lithe and lean, still excellent for seekers.

"We've been here since nine, Draco. We would have seen her board."

"I don't know. Let's just get onto the train and see, yeah?" The dark-haired wizard nods in acquiescence and trots onto the first car with his friend, having said goodbye to their parents an hour ago. They had had an Order meeting to get to or (as everyone privy to it called it) the-interrogation-of-Snape-to-find-out-where-Tallie-had-gone-this-summer-meeting.

The two young men found their friends within the first car, in a slightly expanded compartment thanks to Hermione. They settled in with worried frowns and the compartment quieted as the scarlet train begins to move.

"No sign of her, then?" Neville asks quietly from his seat beside Ginny. Ron and Hermione, along with Pansy, look over at the two boys. This summer had brought too much maturity to the teens, who had all popped in for a stay at Dover Manor at least two to three times each for training. The Order was taking the war seriously now that the new minister, Scrimgeour, was too oblivious to find a cat in a dairy store.

"None. Should we search the train?" Draco suggests. Hermione shakes her head.

"There might be a reason she hasn't sought us out yet. We'll wait a while." The others nod and dig through their trunks for various entertainment.

* * *

"Tallie" Blaise lets his breath leave him with a rush as his blue eyes land upon the pale-haired witch. She sat in an empty compartment in the last car, staring out of the window with lifeless eyes.

"I'm condemned, Blaise." Her voice is strong, despite her posture. Blaise steps over the threshold, sliding the door shut behind him and settling down beside his friend. Ever since the day he found her in the sitting room before a quivering rabbit, their friendship had become stronger, closer.

"You already knew that." She inclines her head in agreement.

"Happy late birthday." Blaise offers, sliding the small package from his pocket. She turns to him in surprise and a small smile quirks the corners of her mouth. With thin and trembling hands she unwraps the silver package and lifts the lid of the velvet box.

"Oh" She gasps, pinching the delicate white gold chain between her fingertips and lifting the necklace from its velvet spot. The pendant, a misty moonstone shining with ethereal blue light with Celtic knot triangles stretching out from its sides for about an inch.

"I read that on a werewolf's sixteenth birthday, they receive some type of moonstone so that their _were_ powers are enhanced." Blaise murmurs, clasping it around her neck for her since the girl was obviously in shock.

"Yes, it's supposed to be given by either their parents or…or their soulmate." The last is whispered by the very pale witch and Blaise stares down at her in concern.

"Soulmate?" He raises his hands to clasp her shoulders as tears suddenly fill her dull brown eyes. He had not seen her cry since that day in that study.

"I didn't think I would have one, since I am not a full werewolf. But I do, Blaise. I do and I…I…" Her breaths became wheezes as she started to hyperventilated.

"How do you find out?" He demands seriously, patting her cheek to draw her attention. Her distraught expression fills his vision as she looks into his face.

"On a werewolf's sixteenth birthday. If you've met your soulmate already, you dream of them and you feel the connection. They won't if they're not a werewolf also, but once you tell them, it begins to develop. I woke up on my birthday and I can't believe I never saw it. Blaise…Blaise…" She shakes her head and grips his hands where they lie on her shoulders tightly as if holding on for dear life.

"Who is it?" Her eyes close in defeat.

"Harry…and Draco." Blaise slumps slightly into the back of the seat.

"A triad? You're a triad? That hasn't happened in over fifty years! They're powerful!" Blaise exclaims. Tallie shrugs.

"Blaise, I'm claimed by Bellatrix. When…when I betray them, they will never accept the bond. And I cannot tell them about the blood magic, I'm forbidden to unless I want Draco subjected to the same thing. You and I both know he won't be able to resist the pull of it." Blaise shakes his head and pulls the small witch into a comforting hug.

"This isn't fair." He murmurs angrily, blinking away angry tears as well. Tallie tenses, unexpected sobs wrenching through her chest without warning.

"When has anything in my life been fair?" She hiccoughs. Blaise shushes her again, pulling her into his lap and cradling her like he would a small child. He tucks her head into his neck and begins to sing one of her favorite songs in Italian, the way she liked it best.

"_Sono una domanda al mondo,_

_Non è una risposta di essere ascoltato,_

_o un momento che si tiene tra le tue braccia"_ Tallie was humming with him, her voice soft but raw from her restricted sobs. She was forcing her cries down and so Blaise raised his voice to drown out her concentration.

_"E cosa ne pensi avresti mai detto?_

_I wont ascolto comunque._

_Tu non mi conosci e_

_Non sarò mai quello che vuoi che io sia_

_ E cosa ne pensi che avresti capito?_

_Sono un ragazzo, no, io sono un uomo._

_Si può prendere e mi buttare via." _Her shoulders shake, her body tightens with the emotional pain that should never be felt by one so young. When he sings, Blaise transcends his body, feeling as if he is floating among te music notes, riding the lines of the sheet. His senses expand, everything expands.

_"E come si può imparare che cosa è mai mostrato?_

_Sì, è stare qui da solo._

_Loro non mi conoscono. Perché io non sono qui…_" _But I am here, Tallie. For you_.

* * *

Neville was making his way back from the loo, the one in the last car unfortunately as a few Slytherins and Hufflepuffs had decided to have a water fight in the first two. He slows down as a familiar tune reaches his ears, sung in a strange language. French? His eyes search the compartments he's passing.

_No, Italian_. He thinks as he spots Blaise Zabini in an empty compartment. _With a touch of Lupin_. He picks up his pace and runs towards his own compartment, intent on telling Harry and Draco as soon as possible.

They were in the middle of exploding snap, Ron was winning once again.

"I found Tallie!" Neville yelps halfway through his statement as the cards blast apart spectacularly in front of him. Draco and Harry are already on their feet, facing Neville.

"Where?"

"She's in the last car, with Blaise. She looked as if she was crying." He adds. Behind the concerned wizards, Ginny and Hermione exchange worried glances. Usually Tallie came to Harry and Draco for comfort. Ron was uncomfortably picking up the singed cards, rubbing soot from his nose as Hermione points it out affectionately.

"Thanks Neville. See you guys later, at the feast." Harry calls as he and Draco dash out the door. Neville sighs and sits beside Ginny, brushing his hand against hers and causing both to blush furiously. Ron and Hermione chuckle at their embarrassment.

Harry, walking furiously next to his blonde companion, let his hand cross with Draco's. Both boys' palms were sweaty with nerves, hearts racing with apprehension and an emotion so sweet, so painful that neither had yet to name it yet. A grey eye caught a green one from the corners and both were equally dilated.

"Here" Draco breathes, halting outside the third compartment on the last car. Inside, a black robed Tallie was being cradled by a usually elusive Blaise, sweet Italian music drifting from the cracks beneath and above the door. The girl was obviously asleep, her pale face pressed trustingly to the dark-skinned wizard's neck, one hand clutching loosely at his other shoulder. Her legs, thin-looking in their denims, were bent against his chest, one of his hands clutching at them to keep them in place. His own head was bent towards hers, so his voice would sing directly into her ears.

It was intimate looking. Too intimate looking.

"Tallie!"

"Blaise, what are you doing?" The boys burst into the compartment, seeing red. Blaise breaks off from his song instantly to shush them with a furious expression upon his face.

"She just fell asleep, don't you dare wake her." He hisses, clutching her more securely to him. Draco snarls softly, feeling his inner lion awakening within him. He had not felt the beast like this since fourth year. Harry was suffering from the same urge beside him.

"Why is she here with you?" Draco growls, his grey-blue eyes narrowing with suspicion. Blaise narrows his eyes, mirroring him, and jerks his head sharply at the seat across from them.

"I won't wake her just to tell you. If you want to stay, sit and be quiet." Blaise snaps. Both standing boys do as he says from sheer shock. Blaise was never so commanding, preferring the background.

"Is she hurt?" Harry asks quickly as the Italian opens his mouth to begin singing once more.

"Not physically." Blaise lets his blue eyes fall shut as he focuses his senses on the girl in his arms. Yes, he was coming to love her, as more than just a friend and a sister. But he knew she would never be his, especially now.

_Growing into adulthood is sucky sometimes… _

He breathes in slowly, the forest smells of her scent invading his olfactory senses. The heavy black robes she was wearing to hide the too-skinny frame she had gained from her stressful summer was scratchy against his bare arms and cheek, but he didn't mind. His brain clears and he opens his mouth to finish the song.

"_Non possono dire chi sia._

_Perché io non sono quello che vedono._

_Sì, il mondo è ancora dormendo, mentre io continuo a sognare per me._

_E le loro parole sono solo sussurri e le menzogne che non sarò mai credo"_ Harry watches his oldest friend, the one who has been by his side since diapers and levitating the cat into the sink. The one who always strove to keep him safe, when she needed the protection more. The one who knew how to make him laugh, how much he hated muggle pizza, when he was on the verge of crying, where his birthmark was (which will never be revealed…_ever) _and his eyes widen with both understanding and regret. He didn't know his best friend anymore.

_"E voglio un momento per essere reale._

_Voglio toccare cose che non si sentono._

_Vogliono mantenere e sento di appartenere._

_E come possono dire che non ho mai cambiato._

_Sono quelli che rimangono gli stessi._

_Sono io ora,_

_Perché io sono ancora qui._

_Sono io quello,_

_Perché io sono ancora qui."_ Beside the suddenly stricken Harry, Draco was struggling as well. He recognized this song, from middle-of-the-night dreams and echoes from their pack bond. And he knew this line, and he wanted to make all of those things true. He wanted to reach his hands out and grasp Tallie's body to his own, and have Harry curl up on her other side. He wanted to encase her with their warmth, share the feelings that he knew they felt for her. He wanted to share his feelings for Harry himself, and finally hear the black-haired boy admit to his own. He wanted to stop her pain, fix the scars within her mind, and bring back the bubbly third year girl he knew. Before Voldemort returned, before she was tortured by his crazy aunt, before Harry was touched with darkness and death, before their families were threatened for their loyalties.

_ "Sono ancora qui."_ Blaise, aware of the gazes of Tallie's soul mates' upon them both, presses a kiss to her chin with promise.

_"Sono ancora qui."_ Harry, the lightning bolt blazing upon his forehead, his eyes filled with a smoldering emerald flame, looks at his oldest friend, one of his strongest loves, and promises without touch.

_"Sono ancora qui._" Draco, his arms clasped around his chest to stop from grabbing both Tallie and Harry to him, feels the strength of Harry's promise, sees the depth of Blaise's kiss, and throws his carefully hidden promise out to the witch as well.

_I'm still here_.

* * *

"Mister Potter, your presence has been required in the Headmaster's office immediately." Harry glances up from where he was attempting to jinx Ron silently. Beside him, Hermione's eyebrows rose up in concern but Harry subtly shook his head to indicate that his scar had not pained him recently and therefore, Voldemort could not have done something.

"Yes, sir." Knowing Snape would take points away for 'showing off' or something if he packed his things magically, he quickly shoved everything into his knapsack and trotted out of the classroom with "Five points from Gryffindor for running in class, Potter!" echoing behind him.

When he arrived, slightly breathless— _I am so starting Quidditch training this weekend._ — in the corridor where Dumbledore's office resided, he found a smirking Draco Malfoy. "It's not so urgent, is it?"

The blonde's smirk, if possible, deepened and he shook his head. "No, I was called out ten minutes ago. I was waiting for you."

"No Tallie?" Harry asks, looking around in case the silver-haired witch was hiding in the shadows. She was very withdrawn this year. Well, the three weeks of the school year that had passed so far. When he turns back to Draco, the blonde had lost his smirk and was clenching his fingers into his robes.

"She was requested, but she slipped away right after we left our Transfiguration class." He mutters, clearly hurt. Harry reaches out and smoothes out the tense fingers of his friend, lingering longer than necessary over the finely boned digits, and guiding him up to the statue.

"Pelting Peanuts" He says to the griffin. They hop onto the top step and ride it all the way to the top before walking through the already open door.

"Where's Tallie?" Sirius asks before either student had a chance to see who all was there. Draco blinks and looks at the depressed animagus. His husband sat beside him, hands clenched between them. His own parents sat on their other side, with the Potters, and Dumbledore was settled behind his desk.

"She disappeared after we left class." Draco manages to say without emotion. If he acted like it didn't hurt, then hopefully the pain of rejection would go away as well.

"Did she say anything at all to you, Mister Malfoy?" Dumbledore asks gently.

"She said she had no desire to go through an interrogation. I think she was heading down towards the dungeons." He supplies. His father nods approvingly, while Draco notices Lily and his mother exchanging worried glances.

"How could she know?" Remus wonders.

"Tallie is extremely perceptive, Remus. I have noticed it since she returned from her time in the forest under the centaur's teaching. Often a good predictor of the outcomes of the Goblin Gambling League actuall—"

"WHAT?" Sirius leaps to his feet and Harry drags Draco towards their parents, leaning against their mothers' chairs. Dumbledore looks taken aback before recovering and popping a lemon drop into his mouth.

"I am guessing by your exclamation that Tallie never revealed her tutelage from them?"

"You're damn right she didn't! Did she tell any of you?" The dark-haired man turns his gaze accusingly to his fellows. Only Harry and Draco drop their gazes slightly.

"We had guessed from things she had mentioned over the years. She never outright said anything, Uncle." Harry offers. Sirius shakes his head and turns back to the headmaster.

"What exactly happened?"

"From what I've gathered from Firenze, one of the more open centaurs, they found Tallie when they first sought her out under my request. Don't interrupt me, Sirius." He scolds sternly before continuing. "Apparently, when they came upon her, a shower of stars occurred or some such Astronomical event and the herd took young Tallie under their wing. Though in wolf-form, she was able to communicate with them rather efficiently and learned their arts. They have refused to reveal what they taught to her, but it was most likely their way of reading the stars using her magic." Lily gasps, her luminous eyes wide with awe.

"It may be terrible to say, but how astounding! I would give much for such an opportunity." She murmurs. James presses a kiss to the back of her neck to hide his smile while Lucius and Narcissa quirk their lips upwards with fondness. Sirius and Remus looked livid.

"They had no right! Their way of reading the stars has driven them all barmy! Teaching an eleven year old the same is downright cruel." Sirius rants. James steps forward, grim-faced.

"Imagine, then, her mindset when she returned, Sirius. We should be thankful nothing messed with her mind further after that." Sirius flushes and he sneers at his best friend.

"We acknowledge our mistakes, James. Will you never stop throwing them back into our faces?" Remus asks with a wearied sigh. James throws up his hands in exasperation.

"When you actually _fix_ them! All you do is hum and sigh whenever she does something that displeases you, speak of fixing your mistakes, and then stutter in indignation when she responds appropriately to that because of what she has suffered at your hands." James chews out.

"We've given her a family and a home, unconditional love! We would die for her!" Harry and Draco stood up straight in fury.

"That's a lie." Draco spit out. Harry continued before either Lupin could recover enough to retort.

"You left her to duel Bellatrix when Sirius was barely wounded. You left your fifteen year old daughter to duel a witch three times her age, immersed so deeply into the Dark Arts that she was mad, by herself. Is it a wonder that she cannot stand to be in your presence? Just mentioning your names is enough to make her lose her appetite." Draco nods fiercely in agreement.

"Her backpacking this summer didn't seem to help much. She still barely eats or speaks with anyone. She is avoiding us, as well. Do you know how painful that is with our pack bond? To not be wanted by the very person who formed it? Not only have your mistakes hurt Tallie, they're hurting us." Draco adds.

"So stop sitting back on your asses and wondering where you went wrong and start actively doing something to fix it! Visit her; write apologies, try and come to know her. Do _something!_" Harry finishes vehemently before storming out of the office, Draco on his heels.

In the silence after the slamming of the door fades away, two men lower their heads in shame.

* * *

The forest was dark, deeply blanketed with snow and brittle foliage. Brown trunks emerged from the white ground, think stalks of equally brown branches and fronds sticking out in between. It was beautifully silent, the snow muting any and all sound. No creature stirred, no owls hooting to their brethren, no coyotes howling to their goddess, no creepy crawlies moving under the ground.

Then, a pause in the silence. A crack, with brushing sounds as if hair was being swiped across the delicate snow-top layer. Snuffling, a nose taking in the smells that the habitat had to offer. A small _snap_! as ears pricked and a tail lashed in warning. Muzzles, one a pale gold and another a deep black, wrinkle and the tops of their feline mouths are hit with even headier scents.

_Tallie?_ The black panther ventures, stretching its nearly fully grown body through the snow and moving a few paw steps forward. There was nothing for a few minutes, but both great cats employed their patience. This was not a small matter.

_What are you doing here?_ The base of a blackthorn tree stirs, the snow dislodging as a lithe form struggled to its feet. Snow was impacted into its fur, but spots of midnight black interspersed with splotches of grey were visible. As it stretched and cocks its head at the felines, the glimpse of its back through quickly falling snow reveals the outline of a dragon's wing and rearing head.

_What are you doing here, is the actual question. We came here for a run._

_I did the same. I grew weary._ Draco shivers slightly from the surrounding cold and trots forward a few feet to press his muzzle to Tallie's. She steps it up a notch by gliding her furry cheek against his great one, nuzzling her head around his neck and inhaling his natural scent. Harry moves forward, his tail lashing with grumpiness at the wet slush beneath his claws.

_I have missed you both. _Tallie sighs into their minds, the bond opening bit by bit as she wreathes around Harry's neck. The black panther picks up a steady purr, copying Draco in the respect. Draco leans across Tallie's back to lick at Harry's cheek, sharing in their touch and contentment.

_It does not have to be that way. Why are you so far away? Why can we not be with you?_ The boys' minds echo each other, their pained thoughts like a gale of icy rain over Tallie's mind. The black wolf, now fully grown, whines deep in her throat.

_Some things must be. Some things mustn't. Draco, Harry, though I may seem so distant, I am always right here._ The black wolf balances on her back paws as she presses her fores against their chests, over their rapidly beating hearts. Her eyes, an amber shade of brown in this form, bore into theirs with promise. Both cats rumble with discontentedness but move at the same time, encasing the smaller canine with their muscular bodies. Surrounding her with their purring and heat and presence.

_Some things will always be. To be found beneath the blackthorn tree. Never shall it be far. All you must do is look deep within your heart._ Tallie's mind whispers sleepily through theirs.

_What was that? _Draco whispers, purring more loudly as Harry's tail entwines with his.

_The tree…told…m…me._ With a sigh, the wolf was very deeply asleep, leaving her boys to exchange slightly amused, mostly worried glances.

_Draco…?_

_Yes?_

_I…I love her._

_Me too, Harry._ Emerald crossed with grey-blue, sadness and confusion apparent.

_Do you think she…might return our feelings?_

_If she did? Harry, she's part-were._

_So?_

_So, the chances of her having a soul mate are around 87%. She finds out between her sixteenth and seventeenth birthday. _The black panther flattens his ears to his head. The lion, his mane rustling wildly about his head, cocks his head in question.

_Someone else gets to hold her heart? We've earned that privilege! We've been there, we know her best! We…WE LOVED HER FIRST!_

_Harry! Calm down before you wake her. _The pale lion admonishes sharply, both great cats waiting until the black slumber enshrouded their pack mate's mind once more before continuing. _You don't think I believe the same? But with a soul mate bond, she will love him or her irrevocably. She will do… anything for them._

_What if they don't love her back?_ The black panther jerks slightly as his little lion snarls deeply, fangs fully exposed.

_If they reject her, she will be heartbroken. And then I will be sent to Azkaban for pulling out his or her intestines from their belly buttons and feeding them their own reproductive bits. _His voice is dark, layered in silk and lethal promise. Harry, narrowing his emerald eyes to slits, coughs in agreement.

_If we ever meet her soul mate, we shall ensure her eternal happiness. She's been through enough._ Draco does not reply, only buries his head into the black wolf's fur and falling asleep to her enchanting scent. Harry watches his two loves fondly, licking a few strips of fur on each before letting his own head rest between theirs and letting his eyes close.


End file.
